Salman Rushdie On Ventilator, Likely To Lose An Eye, Liver Stabbed And Damaged: Report
New
Age Islam News Bureau
13
August 2022
Author Salman Rushdie/Photo: The Economic Times
----
•
‘No One Will Any Longer Dare Offend Islam’: The 1989 Fatwa Against Salman
Rushdie
•
Militant Hindutva Leader Narsinghanand; Hindus Should Boycott 'Har Ghar
Tiranga' Campaign, Should Have A Saffron-Coloured Flag On Their House
•
China Tells Pelosi: Repent From US Sins In Afghanistan, Iraq If You Truly Care
About Human Rights
•
Penang Mufti: Woman Performing Umrah In Men’s Ihram Clothing A ‘Senseless’ Act
To Mock Islam
North America
•
Salman Rushdie stabbing: Assailant identified as Hadi Matar, an Islamist with
pro-Iran views
•
Salman Rushdie stabbing sends literary world into shock
•
New York State police identify suspect who attacked Salman Rushdie
•
Salman Rushdie had multiple stab wounds and there was pool of blood under his
body, says doctor who helped him
•
Attack on author Salman Rushdie was appalling: White House adviser
•
Taliban still ‘dangerous,’ says former US general Petraeus
•
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appalled to learn of attack on Salman
Rushdie
--------
Europe
•
Events following Iran’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie
•
Sweden's Left Party leader chides MPs for posing with PKK terror group's symbol
•
Greek state built on anti-Türkiye rhetoric: Turkish officials
•
Germany suspends military mission in Mali amid diplomatic tensions
--------
India
•
Islamic Centre Holds ‘Trianga Yatra’ Led By Its Chairman Maulana Khalid Rashid
Farangi Mahali To Mark 75th I-Day Celebrations
•
Clerics Across Uttar Pradesh Mosques Urge Faithful To Hoist Tricolour On August
15
•
Exiled Bangladeshi Author Taslima Nasreen 'Worried' After Salman Rushdie
Stabbed
•
Bangladeshi Muslims Make Flags For Har Ghar Tiranga, Boycott Them: Yati
•
India At 75: Upper Caste Muslims Have Kept Casteism In Islam Hidden For
Personal Benefit: Faiyaz
•
J&K Govt Sacks 4 Employees Including Son Of Hizbul Chief Salahuddin
•
Sulli Deals app: SC to hear plea seeking clubbing of FIRs
•
41-yr-old accused of active role in Kanhaiya Lal murder arrested by NIA
•
Jaish Terrorist Linked To Pak-Based Taliban Arrested By UP ATS, Was Tasked To
Kill Nupur Sharma
--------
South Asia
•
Taliban Fighters Swap Arms For Books As Hundreds Return To School
•
Afghanistan’s media in doom as country loses nearly 60 pc journalists under
Taliban rule
•
Afghan migrants continue to face abuse from Iranian border guards, traffickers
•
Taliban torn over reforms one year after seizing power
--------
Southeast Asia
•
Operators Predicts Thousands Of 'Mamak' Outlets Nationwide To Fold By Year-End
From Worker Shortage
•
Turun protesters to ‘celebrate’ Ismail’s first year as PM
•
5 local churches that are architectural masterpieces
--------
Mideast
•
Salman Rushdie Attack: Suspect Showed Sympathy To Causes Of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards
•
Iran Conservative Media Praise Salman Rushdie Attacker
•
Israeli decision to raze West Bank school is 'war' on Palestinian identity,
says premier
•
Leader: Palestinian Resistance Movement Can Badly Defeat Zionist Enemy
•
Spokesman: US Unable to Whitewash General Soleimani's Assassination by False
Stories
•
President Rayeesi: Martyr Soleimani Source of Pride for Iran, Muslim World
•
Iranian diplomat says EU proposal to revive nuclear deal could be ‘acceptable’
•
Iran plans to commission three more space satellites
•
US ambassador supports Israeli air raids on Gaza Strip, terms resistance
fighters as ‘bad guys’
--------
Pakistan
•
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Hires US Lobbying Firm To Establish 'Good Relations'
With Washington
•
Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal Underlines Need To Spread True Image Of Islam Via
Good Governance
•
Decision to not arrest ex-BJP spokesperson shows India’s hatred towards Islam:
Bilawal Bhutto
•
Protests intensify in PoK against Pakistan government’s plans to amend
Constitution
•
COAS Bajwa hails deep-rooted ties between Pakistan, UK
•
Arshad Nadeem extends golden run to Islamic Solidarity Games
•
Militants present in Swat, but situation under control: police
•
Religious affairs minister threatens polio vaccine boycott in ex-Fata areas
•
US announces $1mln grant for Pakistan to address natural disasters
•
Pak navy rescues 9 Indian crew members after vessel capsizes in Arabian Sea
--------
Arab World
•
More Than 600 Linked To ISIS Transferred From Syria To Iraq
•
Wanted Fugitive Blows Himself Up In Saudi Arabia Injuring Four People
•
Iraq’s Sadr Supporters Perform Friday Prayers Outside Parliament As Political
Crisis Lingers
•
Pro-Iran Coordination Framework Begin Rival Baghdad Sit-In
•
Rivals rally in Iraq amid political standoff
•
Suicide bomber injures 4 people in Saudi Arabia
--------
Africa
•
Tunisia’s Military Clashes With ‘Terrorists’, Two Soldiers Injured: Statement
•
Sudanese-Libyan patrol finds 20 bodies, rescues 8 surviving irregular
immigrants
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/rushdie-hadi-matar-author-new-york-/d/127706
--------
Salman
Rushdie On Ventilator, Likely To Lose An Eye, Liver Stabbed And Damaged: Report
Author Salman Rushdie/Photo: The Economic Times
----
Yoshita
Singh | New York
13.08.22
Author
Salman Rushdie was on a ventilator, will likely lose one eye and his liver was
"stabbed and damaged" following an attack on him on Friday, his agent
said, noting that the "news is not good".
The
New York Times (NYT) reported that according to Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie,
the Mumbai-born controversial author was on a ventilator and could not speak.
"The
news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were
severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged," Wylie said in a statement
to NYT.
Rushdie,
who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing The Satanic Verses,
was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident at an event in western New
York State.
Hadi
Matar (24) from Fairview, New Jersey has been identified as the suspect who
stabbed Rushdie, Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told a
press conference on Friday evening.
Rushdie
(75) was stabbed in the neck as he was on the stage at the Chautauqua
Institution, a not-for-profit community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New
York State, where approximately 7,500 people are in residence on any day during
a nine-week season.
Staniszewski
said Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience
until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene. "The doctor
immediately began first aid" on Rushdie. The author was then airlifted to
a local trauma centre and was "undergoing surgery" at about 5 pm
local time, several hours after the attack that occurred at approximately 10:47
am.
Replying
to a question about Matar's nationality, Staniszewski said, "I don't know
yet."
Asked
how would he describe Rushdie's condition, Staniszewski said, "We are
trying to get an update and it is something that we are watching closely."
He
said authorities are in the "process of obtaining search warrants for
various items. There was a backpack located at the scene. There was also
electronic devices". He added that at the moment, it is assumed that the
suspect was "working alone".
Staniszewski
said the authorities do not have any indication of a motive "at this time.
But we are working with the FBI, the Sheriff's Office and we will determine
what the cause of this was and what the motive for this attack was".
Rushdie
was about to speak at the special Chautauqua Lecture Series event exploring the
theme of "More than Shelter" for a "discussion on the United
States as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom
of creative expression".
He
was joined by Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of
Asylum, the largest residency programme in the world for writers living in
exile under the threat of persecution.
Staniszewski
said at approximately 10:47 am local time, Rushdie and Reese (73) had just
arrived on stage at the Chautauqua Institution for the event. "Shortly
thereafter, the suspect jumped onto the stage and attacked Rushdie, stabbing
him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen."
Staniszewski
said several members of the staff at the institution and audience members
rushed the suspect and took him to the ground. A trooper with the New York
State Police, who was at the institution, took the suspect into custody with
the assistance of a Chautauqua County Sheriff's deputy.
Reese
was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, treated for facial injuries
and subsequently released, authorities said.
The
State Police are being assisted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office and
the FBI in the investigation. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt
will determine "appropriate charges as the investigation continues",
authorities said.
Chautauqua
Institution president Michael Hill said the organisation is holding Rushdie and
Reese as well as their families "close in prayer at this hour".
"What
we experienced at Chautauqua today is an incident unlike anything in our nearly
150-year history. We were founded to bring people together in community, to
learn and in doing so, create solutions through action, to develop empathy and
to take on intractable problems. Today, we are called to take on fear and the
worst of all human traits. Hate," Hill said.
Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) CEO Ambassador Mark Wallace said his thoughts and
prayers go out to Rushdie and his family after he suffered the
"senseless" attack on his life.
"Rushdie
is a champion of free speech who has lived under the threat of assassination
since the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
issued a fatwa against him in 1989. Despite the continuous calls for his
execution by the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, Rushdie has
refused to be intimidated. His bravery and commitment to his values should be
celebrated in this difficult moment."
Source:
Telegraph India
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
‘No
One Will Any Longer Dare Offend Islam’: The 1989 Fatwa Against Salman Rushdie
Salman Rushdie, the controversial writer
----
12
August 2022
PARIS
(AFP) — Friday’s knife attack on Salman Rushdie at an event in New York comes
more than 33 years after the fatwa against him by Iran’s supreme leader
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in which he sentenced him to death.
The
Fatwa
On
February 14, 1989 Khomeini called for him to be killed for writing “The Satanic
Verses,” which the cleric said insulted Islam.
In
a fatwa, or religious decree, Khomeini urged “Muslims of the world rapidly to
execute the author and the publishers of the book” so that “no one will any
longer dare to offend the sacred values of Islam.”
Khomeini,
who was 89 and had just four months to live, added that anyone who was killed
trying to carry out the death sentence should be considered a “martyr” who
would go to paradise.
A
$2.8-million bounty was put on the writer’s head.
The
British government immediately granted police protection to Rushdie, an atheist
born in India to non-practicing Muslims.
For almost 13 years he moved between safe
houses under the pseudonym of Joseph Anton, changing base 56 times in the first
six months. His solitude was worsened by the split with his wife American
novelist Marianne Wiggins, to whom “The Satanic Verses” are dedicated.
“I
am gagged and imprisoned,” he recalled writing in his diary in his 2012 memoir,
“Joseph Anton.”
“I
can’t even speak. I want to kick a football in a park with my son. Ordinary,
banal life: my impossible dream.”
‘Blasphemous’
Viking
Penguin published “The Satanic Verses” in September 1988 to critical acclaim.
The
book is set by turns in the London of Conservative British prime minister
Margaret Thatcher and ancient Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.
It
centers on the adventures of two Indian actors, Gibreel and Saladin, whose
hijacked plane explodes over the English Channel.
They
re-emerge on an English beach and mix with immigrants in London, the story
unfolding in surreal sequences reflecting Rushdie’s magic realism style.
The
book was deemed blasphemous and sacrilegious by many Muslims including over
references to verses alleged by some scholars to have been an early version of
the Quran and later removed.
These
verses allow for prayers to be made to three pagan goddesses, contrary to
Islam’s strict belief that there is only one God.
Controversially,
Rushdie writes of the involvement of a prophet resembling the founder of Islam,
Muhammad.
This
prophet is tricked into striking a deal with Satan in which he exchanges some
of his monotheistic dogmatism in favor of the three goddesses. He then realizes
his error.
Khomeini
and others insist he had depicted the prophet irreverently.
‘Hang
Rushdie’
In
October 1988, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi banned the import of the book,
hoping to win Muslim support ahead of elections. Some 20 countries went on to
outlaw it.
In
January 1989, Muslims in Britain’s northern city of Bradford burned copies in
public.
A
month later, thousands of Pakistanis attacked the US Information Center in
Islamabad, shouting “American dogs” and “hang Salman Rushdie.” Police opened
fire, killing five.
Khomeini’s
fatwa provoked horror around the Western world.
There
were protests in Europe, and London and Tehran broke off diplomatic relations
for nearly two years.
In
the United States, authors like Susan Sontag and Tom Wolfe organized public
lectures to support Rushdie.
The
author tried to explain himself in 1990 in an essay titled “In Good Faith” but
many Muslims were not placated.
Attacks
Rushdie
gradually emerged from his underground life in 1991, but his Japanese
translator was killed in July that year.
His
Italian translator was stabbed a few days later and a Norwegian publisher shot
two years later, although it was never clear the attacks were in response to
Khomeini’s call.
In
1993, Islamist protesters torched a hotel in Sivas in central Turkey, some of
whom were angered by the presence of writer Aziz Nesin, who sought to translate
the novel into Turkish. He escaped but 37 people were killed.
In
1998, the government of Iran’s reformist president Mohammad Khatami assured
Britain that Iran would not implement the fatwa.
But
Khomeini’s successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in 2005 he still believed
Rushdie was an apostate whose killing would be authorized by Islam.
‘Islamophobia’
Many
Muslims were furious when Rushdie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007
for his services to literature.
Iran
accused Britain of “Islamophobia,” saying its fatwa still stood, and there were
widespread Muslim protests, notably in Pakistan.
Rushdie
was by then living relatively openly in New York where he moved in the late
1990s, and where his recent novels are set.
After
many years living in the shadows, he became something of a socialite and is
seen by many in the West as a free speech hero.
Until
Friday’s knife attack, he had very much resumed a normal life.
Source:
Times Of Israel
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Militant
Hindutva Leader Narsinghanand; Hindus Should Boycott 'Har Ghar Tiranga'
Campaign, Should Have A Saffron-Coloured Flag On Their House
Yati Narsinghanand. Photo: Twitter
-----
Aug
13, 2022
New
Delhi: Militant Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand Giri has urged Hindus to
have a saffron-coloured flag on their house and boycott the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’
campaign.
According
to Scroll, Narsinghanand – who is an accused in two hate speech cases – asked
Hindus to boycott the “Har Ghar Tiranga” campaign and not purchase flags as he
claimed that the biggest order of procuring flags for this campaign has been
given to a Muslim.
“The
biggest order [of procuring flags] for this campaign has been given to a
company in West Bengal owned by one Salauddin,” he claimed in a video that went
viral on Friday, August 12.
“This
is one big conspiracy against Hindus. If you [Hindus] want to stay alive, then
stop giving your money to Muslims in the name of this campaign.” He added, “If
you want to hoist a tricolour, find an old one. But don’t give money to
Salauddin.”
He
further said that Hindu politicians campaign for the economic boycott of
Muslims, however, they give government contracts to them once in power.
“Teach
a lesson to these politicians…They cannot use your [Hindus] money to make
Muslims rich and subsequently make arrangements for them to kill your children.
Don’t fall into the trap of these people,” he says in the video, according to
an English translation provided by Scroll.
“Every
Hindu should have a saffron-coloured flag on his house,” he said.
While
The Wire was unable to verify the Hindutva leader’s claim, the Times of India
has reported about Salauddin Mondal, whose Kolkata-based company is one of the
nine flag suppliers enlisted by the West Bengal government under the ‘Har Ghar
Tiranga’ programme.
Mondal
said he expected to send three or four crore tricolours to the state
governments of Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Several educational institutes and organisations in Bengal under the Union
government have also placed orders with him.
“There
is no doubt that my business will get an impetus, but that is nothing compared
to the pride that comes with being associated with the 75th anniversary of the
country’s Independence in such a crucial way,” Mondal said, according to TOI.
“I am fortunate that the responsibility of ensuring every house has a Tricolour
has been given to me,” he added.
Narsinghanand
is out on bail
In
January, Narsinghanand was arrested in two separate cases: one on derogatory
comments against women and the other on hate speeches against Muslims at
Haridwar’s Dharma Sansad. He is on bail in both cases.
However,
the Hindu seer has made several inflammatory comments against Muslims for which
no action has been taken until now.
In
April, he had asked Hindus to give birth to more children to prevent India from
becoming an Islamic country. The Himachal Pradesh had warned him to not use
such instigating language.
He
was summoned by the Ghaziabad Police in June for making derogatory remarks
against Prophet Muhammad.
Source: The Wire
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://thewire.in/communalism/narsinghanand-boycott-har-ghar-tirangan-campaign
--------
China
Tells Pelosi: Repent From US Sins In Afghanistan, Iraq If You Truly Care About
Human Rights
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Chinese Foreign
Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin
----
12
August 2022
China
has called on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to express remorse and apologize
for the atrocities committed by the Americans in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and
Libya if she cared so much about human rights.
Speaking
at a regular briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang
Wenbin criticized Pelosi’s visit to Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) under the pretext
of defending democratic values as a "major political provocation" and
said the visit, which only escalated tensions in the region, had nothing to do
with democracy.
"Her
visit had nothing to do with democracy, that was a political trick that ran
counter to the will of 1.4. billion Chinese people, including our compatriots
in Taiwan. The visit also challenged the one-China principle which is widely
recognized by the international community," he remarked.
"If
Pelosi cares so much about democracy and human rights, she’d better visit
Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya where she could express repentance for the
killings of hundreds of thousands of civilians by the US military. She could
also promise those countries that similar ferocities that resulted from a US
violation of the UN Charter and international law norms will never ever be
repeated," the Chinese diplomat said.
Pelosi’s
visit to Taipei on August 2 and 3 prompted China to launch its largest-ever
military drills around Taiwan on August 4.
As
a result of the civil war in China in the late 1940s and the interference of
external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have fallen into a state
of protracted political confrontation.
Since
1949, when Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Kuomintang nationalists fled to the
island, Chinese Taipei has been run by a local administration.
But
Beijing never agreed with the sovereignty of the Island and considers it as an
inseparable territory of China that has never been divided and will never be
divided.
At
its 26th session in October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted
Resolution 2758, which undertook "to restore all its rights to the
People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its
Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United
Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the
place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the
organizations related to it". This resolution settled once and for all the
political, legal and procedural issues of China's representation in the UN, and
it covered the whole country, including Taiwan. It also spelled out that China
has one single seat in the UN, so there is no such thing as "two
Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".
In
this regard, Sun Weidong, China's ambassador to India, said that Beijing's
stand on Pelosi's Taipei visit as a "major political provocation" has
got the backing of people from over 160 countries. "On Pelosi’s visit to
China's Taiwan region, people from over 160 countries have voiced their support
for China’s efforts to uphold its sovereignty & territorial integrity,"
he wrote in a Twitter post.
On
Pelosi’s visit to China's Taiwan region, people from over 160 countries have
voiced their support for China’s efforts to uphold its sovereignty &
territorial integrity. pic.twitter.com/xRKzDmIbeu
—
Sun Weidong (@China_Amb_India) August 6, 2022
In
the meantime, the United States claims it cannot overlook China's intrusions
into the Taiwan Strait.
According
to Pelosi, Beijing is trying to create a "new normal" and the US
cannot let that happen.
"What
we saw with China is that they were trying to establish sort of a new normal.
And we just can't let that happen," she said.
Pelosi's
Democratic Party mate, US President Joe Biden, warned Americans that China was
planning "to eat our lunch".
If
we don't get moving, they are going to eat our lunch, Biden warned.
He
said China was investing very heavily to deal with a whole range of issues
including transportation and the environment.
"It
is the United States that infringed upon China's sovereignty, not China
violating the sovereignty of the United States. It is the United States who
connived at and supported 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities, not
China conniving at and supporting separatist activities in the United
States," Wang added.
'Gangster
logic'
On
Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the United States was
going down the path of obscuring, hollowing out and distorting the one-China
principle, while accusing China of changing the status quo.
"The
United States carries out over a hundred military drills in China's adjacent
waters every year, but accuses China of overacting," Wang insisted.
"Neither China nor the international community will accept such a gangster
logic."
If
the United States truly hopes to abide by international law and uphold national
sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries as it claims to, it
should return to the one-China principle, Wang noted.
Wang
urged the United States to refrain from reckless moves and stop attempting to
use Taiwan to contain China and do right things and take concrete steps to
facilitate the sound development of China-US ties and peace and stability
across the Taiwan Strait.
The
Chinese government blames the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait and
across the Asia Pacific region on US policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping has
said that America's foreign policy towards China in recent years caused Beijing
"serious difficulties" in their mutual relations, with clashes on
issues like trade, pandemics, and regional interference.
Xi
said that despite all difficulties created by the US, Beijing will not allow a foreign force to bully and
oppress it, warning that anyone who tries to do so will “be badly battered by
the Chinese nation’s perseverance.”
Xi
said the “era of China being bullied is gone forever,” as he stood at the Gate
of Heavenly Peace above a portrait of Mao Zedong, adding that, “No one should
underestimate the Chinese nation’s will and power to fight against foreign
power.”
“We
will not accept sanctimonious preaching from those who feel they have the right
to lecture us,” he said. “We have never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the
people of any other country, and we never will.”
“By
the same token, we will never allow anyone to bully, oppress, or subjugate
[China]. Anyone who tries will find them on a collision course with a steel
wall forged by 1.4 billion people.”
Xi
further hailed the ruling party’s successes since its founding in 1921, saying
it had lifted China out of poverty and restored national pride.
“We
eliminated the exploitative feudal system that had persisted in China for
thousands of years and established socialism,” he said.
“Only
socialism could save China and only socialism with Chinese characteristics
could develop China,” he added.
China’s
Xi urges ruling party members to advance toward 2nd centenary goal
China’s
President Xi Jinping calls on the Chinese Communist Party members to advance
toward the second centenary goal of the country as the nation prepares to
commemorate the ruling party’s 100th founding anniversary.
Xi
further said the party had brought about “national rejuvenation” by lifting
tens of millions from poverty and “altered the landscape of world development.”
The
“great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible
historical course,” he said, and pledged to continue to build a “world-class”
military to defend national interests.
The
Chinese president also warned that any attempt to separate the ruling party and
the people was “bound to fail,” and said the party had achieved its goal of
building a “moderately prosperous society in all respects.”
Reunification
of Chinese Taipei 'unshakeable commitment'
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Xi reiterated longstanding pledges to “restore” Chinese Taipei
(Taiwan), stressing that the reunification of the self-ruled island with the
mainland remained an “unshakeable commitment.”
“No
one should underestimate the resolve, the will and ability of the Chinese
people to define their national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he
said.
China
has pursued reunification with Chinese Taipei ever since the island broke away
from the mainland during the civil war.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Penang
Mufti: Woman Performing Umrah In Men’s Ihram Clothing A ‘Senseless’ Act To Mock
Islam
Penang
Mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor
-----
13
Aug 2022
GEORGE
TOWN, Aug 13 ― Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor described the
action of the woman who performed umrah clad in ihram clothing for men as
“senseless” and a deliberate act to mock Islam.
“A
Muslim is required to respect and glorify Islam...Intentionally doing an act
that is contrary to Islamic law means making fun or mocking at Islam, whereby
making the doer a kafir (infidel),” he said in a statement today.
The
statement was issued in response to a 17-second video which went viralled since
yesterday on a woman said to be a Malaysian, who was dressed in male ihram
clothing in the holy land.
Yesterday,
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad,
in a Facebook post, said stern action would be taken against the woman and that
he had contacted the Home Ministry for investigation to be carried out once the
said person is back in Malaysia. ― Bernama
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
North America
Salman Rushdie stabbing: Assailant identified as Hadi Matar, an Islamist with pro-Iran views
Aug
13, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Law enforcement authorities in New York on Friday identified author Salman
Rushdie's assailant as 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey, believed, on the
basis of his social media posts, to be a supporter of fundamentalist forces in
Iran which initiated a fatwa on the writer in 1988.
After
stabbing, Rushdie was flown to UPMC Hamot Surgery Center in Erie, Pennsylvania
and underwent surgery. Andrew Wylie, Rushdie's agent, said the writer was on a
ventilator with a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye he was likely
to lose.
Matar
reportedly drove from his home in Fairview, New Jersey to Chautauqua, in
Upstate New York, where Rushdie, 75, was a guest speaker at a local literary
festival. He was being interviewed by Henry Reese, 73, when Matar, said to be
of Lebanese origin, rushed on to the stage to attack him.
He
was pinned down by audience members who jumped on stage to protect the
panelists, and doctor among them helped administer CPR to Rushdie before he was
airlifted to hospital.
The
attack, given Matar's purported Iranian sympathies, immediately took on
geo-political implications, coming as it did just days after the Biden
administration's Justice Department charged a member of Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps of trying to orchestrate the assassination of former
National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Salman
Rushdie stabbing sends literary world into shock
Aug
13, 2022
Literary
figures and public officials said that they were shocked by the news that the
author Salman Rushdie had been stabbed in the neck on Friday morning while
onstage to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York.
“We
cannot immediately think of any comparable incident of a public violent attack
on a writer during a literary event here in the US,” said Suzanne Nossel, the
CEO of the nonprofit literary organisation PEN America, who noted that the
motivations for the attack and Rushdie’s current condition were unknown as of
Friday late morning.
Rushdie
is a former president of PEN America, which advocates for writers’ freedom of
expression around the world. She said in a statement that the organisation’s
members were “reeling from shock and horror”. Nossel said Rushdie had emailed
her hours before the attack to ask about helping Ukrainian writers in need of
safe refuge.
“Salman
Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades, but has never flinched nor
faltered,” she said. “He has devoted tireless energy to assisting others who
are vulnerable and menaced.”
“I
hope Salman Rushdie is okay,” tweeted Stephen King.
“I
am really shocked. I never thought it would happen. He has been living in the
West, and he has been protected since 1989. If he is attacked, anyone who is
critical of Islam can be attacked. I am worried” tweeted Bangladeshi writer
Taslima Nasreen.
“Horrified
to learn that Salman Rushdie has been attacked at a speaking event in upstate
New York. Wish him a speedy recovery,” said writer Amitav Ghosh.
Lyricist
Javed Akhtar said, “I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some
fanatic. I hope that NY police and the court will take the strongest action
possible against the attacker.”
The
Wylie Agency, which represents Rushdie, did not respond to a request for
comment. Iran’s mission to the UN in New York did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
US
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York called it “an attack on freedom of speech and
thought”.
The
author Neil Gaiman wrote on Twitter that he was “shocked and distressed” about
the attack. “He’s a good man and a brilliant one and I hope he’s okay,” he
said.
Governor
Kathy Hochul of New York said she had directed state police to assist with the
investigation into Rushdie’s attack. A man was immediately taken into custody,
according to a statement from the state police. Photos on social media of the
alleged assailant being led away by police showed a young man with close cropped
hair.
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
New
York State police identify suspect who attacked Salman Rushdie
Aug
13, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The New York State Police have identified the suspect, who attacked Salman
Rushdie, as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey while the motive behind
the act is still unknown.
"The
suspect has been identified as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey.
Earlier today, approx. at 10:47 am, the speaker Rushdie,75 and Henry Reese,73
had just arrived at the stage of the institution and shortly thereafter the
suspect jumped out of the stage and attacked at least once in the neck and at
least once in the abdomen," State Police Troop Commander Major Eugene J.
Staniszewski said in a news conference.
The
police further said that several members of the institution and the audience
quickly responded to the incident and took the suspect to the ground.
A
doctor in the audience "immediately began first aid for Rushdie"
after the stabbing, Major Staniszewski said. The authorities didn't reveal much
information about the suspect.
Earlier,
Salman Rushdie, who faced death threats over his book 'The Satanic Verses', was
"stabbed" on stage in Western New York state.
Earlier,
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the author is alive and has been
transported to a local hospital.
"He
is alive and has been transported, airlifted, to safety... The event moderator
was attacked as well; he's getting the care he needs at a local hospital,"
she said.
The
New York State Police said in a statement that a male suspect ran up onto the
stage prior to a speaking event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua and
attacked Rushdie.
It
said the author suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and was transported
by helicopter to an area hospital. A suspect has been taken into custody.
The
interviewer with Rushdie was also attacked during the incident and he suffered
a minor head injury, the police said.
"State
Police are investigating the attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a
speaking event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY," the
statement said.
The
seventy-five-year-old author, who caught the limelight for his novel
'Midnight's Children' in 1981, had received a fatwa for his 1988 book. The
Satanic Verses book led to a fatwa, a religious decree, by the then Iranian
revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The threat forced him into
hiding for several years.
Reacting
to the incident, veteran Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar condemned the barbaric
attack. "I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatic.
I hope that NY police and the court will take the strongest action possible
against the attacker," Javed Akhtar tweeted.
Meanwhile,
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, "Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie
has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.
Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is
okay."
And
Home Secretary of UK Priti Patel said, "Shocked and appalled to hear of
the unprovoked and senseless attack on Sir Salman Rushdie. Freedom of
expression is a value we hold dear and attempts to undermine it must not be
tolerated. My thoughts are with Sir Salman and his family."
"State
Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a speaking
event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY," the statement
said. American author Stephen King said, "I hope Salman Rushdie is
okay."
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
Salman
Rushdie had multiple stab wounds and there was pool of blood under his body,
says doctor who helped him
Aug
13, 2022
NEW
YORK: Salman Rushdie suffered multiple stab wounds, including one to the right
side of his neck, and was lying in a pool of blood under his body after he was
attacked at an event here on Friday, according to a doctor who helped the
Mumbai-born controversial author following the brutal assault.
Rushdie
was attacked and stabbed in the neck on Friday while onstage in Chautauqua in
Western New York, New York Police said.
"Rita
Landman, an endocrinologist who was in the audience, walked on stage to offer
assistance after the talk. She said that Mr. Rushdie had multiple stab wounds,
including one to the right side of his neck, and that there was a pool of blood
under his body. But she said he appeared to be alive and was not receiving
CPR,” The New York Times reported.
"People
were saying, ‘He has a pulse, he has a pulse he has a pulse,'” the report
quoted Landman as saying.
Rushdie,
who won the Booker Prize for his novel ‘Midnight's Children', was seen on the
stage with blood on his hands. The audience tackled the attacker and Rushdie
was then treated onstage following the assault.
“State
Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a speaking
event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. On August 12, 2022, at
about 11 a.m., a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an
interviewer,” New York Police said in a statement.
David
Graves, 78, who was sitting in the middle section of the amphitheater, said
Rushdie was still seated when the attacker reached the stage and launched at
him. "Things unfolded within seconds," he told the New York Times.
Roger Warner of Cleveland, Ohio, was sitting on the front row at the
amphitheater with his wife when Rushdie was attacked.
Warner
said he saw a tall, slender man leap onto the stage from the left side and
begin attacking Salman Rushdie. He thought the man had punched Rushdie three or
four times in the face. Then he saw the blood.
“He
was covered with blood and there was blood running down onto the floor. I just
saw blood all around his eyes and running down his cheek,” Warner wasquoted as
saying in the report.
Ibrahim
Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the
country's largest Muslim civil rights group, said he was concerned people might
rush to blame Muslims or Islam for the stabbing before the attacker's identity
or motive were publicly known. “American Muslims, like all Americans, condemn
any violence targeting anyone in our society,” he said.
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
Attack
on author Salman Rushdie was appalling: White House adviser
13
August, 2022
The
attack on Salman Rushdie, the novelist who was stabbed in the neck and torso
onstage at a lecture in New York on Friday, was appalling, White House National
Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
“We’re
all praying for his speedy recovery. And we’re thankful to good citizens and
first responders for helping him so swiftly,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday.
After
hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak on Friday
evening after an attack condemned by writers and politicians around the world
as an assault on the freedom of expression.
“The
news is not good,” Andrew Wylie, his book agent, wrote in an email. “Salman
will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was
stabbed and damaged.”
Rushdie,
75, was being introduced to give a talk to an audience of hundreds on artistic
freedom at western New York's Chautauqua Institution when a man rushed to the
stage and lunged at the novelist, who has lived with a bounty on his head since
the late 1980s.
Stunned
attendees helped wrest the man from Rushdie, who had fallen to the floor. A New
York State Police trooper providing security at the event arrested the
attacker. Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from
Fairview, New Jersey, who bought a pass to the event.
“A
man jumped up on the stage from I don't know where and started what looked like
beating him on the chest, repeated fist strokes into his chest and neck,” said
Bradley Fisher, who was in the audience. “People were screaming and crying out
and gasping.”
A
doctor in the audience helped tend to Rushdie while emergency services arrived,
police said. Henry Reese, the event's moderator, suffered a minor head injury.
Police said they were working with federal investigators to determine a motive.
They did not describe the weapon used.
Rushdie,
who was born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in Bombay, now Mumbai, before moving
to the United Kingdom, has long faced death threats for his fourth novel, “The
Satanic Verses.”
Some
Muslims said the book contained blasphemous passages. It was banned in many
countries with large Muslim populations upon its 1988 publication.
A
few months later, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader,
pronounced a fatwa, or religious edict, calling upon Muslims to kill the
novelist and anyone involved in the book's publication for blasphemy.
Rushdie,
who called his novel “pretty mild,” went into hiding for nearly a decade.
Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of the novel, was murdered in 1991.
The Iranian government said in 1998 it would no longer back the fatwa, and
Rushdie has lived relatively openly in recent years.
Iranian
organizations, some affiliated with the government, have raised a bounty worth
millions of dollars for Rushdie's murder. And Khomeini's successor as supreme
leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said as recently as 2019 that the fatwa was
“irrevocable.”
Iran's
semi-official Fars News Agency and other news outlets donated money in 2016 to
increase the bounty by $600,000. Fars called Rushdie an apostate who “insulted
the prophet” in its report on Friday's attack.
‘Not
a usual writer’
Rushdie
published a memoir in 2012 about his cloistered, secretive life under the fatwa
called “Joseph Anton,” the pseudonym he used while in British police
protection. His second novel, “Midnight's Children,” won the Booker Prize. His
new novel “Victory City” is due to be published in February.
British
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled that Rushdie was “stabbed
while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.”
Rushdie
was at the institution in western New York for a discussion about the United
States giving asylum to artists in exile and “as a home for freedom of creative
expression,” according to the institution's website.
There
were no obvious security checks at the Chautauqua Institution, a landmark
founded in the 19th century in the small lakeside town of the same name; staff
simply checked people's passes for admission, attendees said.
“I
felt like we needed to have more protection there because Salman Rushdie is not
a usual writer,” said Anour Rahmani, an Algerian writer and human rights
activist who was in the audience. “He's a writer with a fatwa against him.”
Michael
Hill, the institution's president, said at a news conference they had a practice
of working with state and local police to provide event security. He vowed the
summer's program would soon continue.
“Our
whole purpose is to help people bridge what has been too divisive of a world,”
Hill said. “The worst thing Chautauqua could do is back away from its mission
in light of this tragedy, and I don't think Mr. Rushdie would want that
either.”
Rushdie
became a US citizen in 2016 and lives in New York City.
A
self-described lapsed Muslim and “hard-line atheist,” he has been a fierce
critic of religion across the spectrum and outspoken about oppression in his
native India, including under the Hindu-nationalist government of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi.
PEN
America, an advocacy group for freedom of expression of which Rushdie is a
former president, said it was “reeling from shock and horror” at what it called
an unprecedented attack on a writer in the United States.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Taliban
still ‘dangerous,’ says former US general Petraeus
August
13, 2022
LONDON:
A former US military commander warned that the Taliban has allowed Al-Qaeda to
return and Daesh to become “very dangerous” amid the disastrous situation in
Afghanistan in the 12 months since US troops withdrew.
“Gen.
David Petraeus said that in the year since Western forces left, the country had
returned to the 8th or 9th century, with the new regime imposing an
‘ultra-conservative’ vision of Islam,” according to a report by The Guardian
newspaper, which cited an interview he gave to Times Radio.
The
report added that the West “left behind hundreds of thousands of people whose
security was jeopardized because of their service in the Afghan government or
work alongside Western troops.”
“I
think it is still a tragic, heartbreaking and, frankly, disastrous situation.
Clearly the Taliban have allowed Al-Qaeda to return. The Islamic State appears
very dangerous,” Petraeus said, using an alternative name for the terrorist
organization Daesh.
“The
economy has collapsed, many of the people are literally starving and the
Taliban regime has imposed an ultra-conservative vision of Islam that takes the
country back to the 8th or 9th century … and in which women have very little
opportunity to contribute to the economy, the business world, even to society.”
He
added: “The vast majority of the coalition forces who were carrying out
training and assistance in the country until last summer had wanted to stay.”
The
Guardian said that intelligence chiefs “previously warned that withdrawing from
the country could weaken the ability of the UK and US to gain an accurate
picture of terrorist activity on the ground.”
Since
the departure of US-led Western troops on Aug. 31 last year and the resultant
Taliban takeover, warnings and threats from the West to the group about its
actions have been ignored, The Guardian said, and British security agencies
have major concerns that it will continue to allow a resurgence of extremist
groups, in particular Al-Qaeda “who could exploit a security vacuum.”
Petraeus
also said a number of resources had been employed to carry out strikes against
individuals who pose a threat, including Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri who
was killed by a US drone strike on his hideout in the Afghan capital, Kabul, this
month.
Meanwhile,
almost 60 percent of journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs or fled
the country since the Taliban takeover, according to a survey published on
Friday by Reporters Without Borders.
The
France-based nongovernmental organization said 219 of the nation’s 547 media
organizations have shut down in the past year and women are the worst affected,
with 76 percent of them losing their jobs. The survey found that only 656
female journalists in the country are still working, the vast majority of them
in Kabul, compared with 2,756 a year ago.
“Journalism
has been decimated during the past year in Afghanistan,” said Christophe
Deloire, the secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders. “The authorities
must undertake to end the violence and harassment inflicted on media workers,
and must allow them to do their job unmolested.”
Accusations
of immorality are frequently used to remove women working in the media from
their posts.
“The
living and working conditions of women journalists in Afghanistan have always
been difficult, but today we are experiencing an unprecedented situation,”
Meena Habib, a journalist in Kabul, told Reporters Without Borders. “They work
in conditions that are physically and mentally violent and tiring, without any
protection.”
Some
media outlets were forced to shut by Taliban rules banning the broadcast of
music and other content, while others have been unable to continue without
international funding.
In
addition, a decree issued last month by Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada
warned against “defaming and criticizing government officials without proof.”
It was the latest in a series of measures aimed at curbing press freedoms.
Source:
Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2141676/world
--------
UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres appalled to learn of attack on Salman
Rushdie
Yoshita
Singh | New York
13.08.22
UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres is "appalled" to learn about the
attack on author Salman Rushdie, saying that in no case is violence a response
to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of
opinion and expression.
"The
Secretary-General was appalled to learn of the attack on renowned novelist
Salman Rushdie," a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson said.
"In
no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their
exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression," Guterres said,
conveying his wishes for Rushdie's early recovery.
The
New York Times (NYT) reported that according to Rushdie's agent, Andrew Wylie,
the Mumbai-born controversial author was on a ventilator and could not speak.
"The
news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were
severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged," Wylie said in a statement
to NYT.
Rushdie,
who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing The Satanic Verses,
was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident at an event in western New
York State.
Hadi
Matar (24) from Fairview, New Jersey has been identified as the suspect who
stabbed Rushdie, Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told a
press conference on Friday evening.
Rushdie
(75) was stabbed in the neck as he was on the stage at the Chautauqua
Institution, a not-for-profit community on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New
York State, where approximately 7,500 people are in residence on any day during
a nine-week season.
Staniszewski
said Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience
until emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene. "The doctor
immediately began first aid" on Rushdie. The author was then airlifted to
a local trauma centre and was "undergoing surgery" at about 5 pm
local time, several hours after the attack that occurred at approximately 10:47
am.
Replying
to a question on Matar's nationality, Staniszewski said, "I don't know
yet."
Asked
how would he describe Rushdie's condition, Staniszewski said, "We are
trying to get an update and it is something that we are watching closely."
He
said authorities are in the "process of obtaining search warrants for
various items. There was a backpack located at the scene. There was also
electronic devices" and added that at the moment, it is assumed that the
suspect was "working alone".
He
said the authorities do not have any indication of a motive "at this time.
But we are working with the FBI, the Sheriff's Office and we will determine
what the cause of this was and what the motive for this attack was".
Rushdie
was about to speak at the special Chautauqua Lecture Series event exploring the
theme of "More than Shelter" for a "discussion on the United
States as an asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for
freedom of creative expression".
He
was joined by Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of
Asylum, the largest residency programme in the world for writers living in
exile under the threat of persecution.
Staniszewski
said approximately at 10:47 am local time, Rushdie and Reese (73) had just
arrived on the stage at the Chautauqua Institution for the event. "Shortly
thereafter, the suspect jumped onto the stage and attacked Rushdie, stabbing
him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen."
Staniszewski
said several members of the staff at the institution and audience members
rushed the suspect and took him to the ground. A trooper with the New York
State Police, who was at the institution, took the suspect into custody with
the assistance of a Chautauqua County Sheriff's deputy.
Reese
was transported via ambulance to a local hospital, treated for facial injuries
and subsequently released, authorities said.
The
State Police are being assisted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office and
the FBI in the investigation. Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt
will determine "appropriate charges as the investigation continues",
authorities said.
Chautauqua
Institution president Michael Hill said the organisation is holding Rushdie and
Reese as well as their families "close in prayer at this hour".
"What
we experienced at Chautauqua today is an incident unlike anything in our nearly
150-year history. We were founded to bring people together in community, to
learn and in doing so, create solutions through action, to develop empathy and
to take on intractable problems. Today, we are called to take on fear and the
worst of all human traits. Hate," Hill said.
Counter
Extremism Project (CEP) CEO Ambassador Mark Wallace said his thoughts and
prayers go out to Rushdie and his family after he suffered the
"senseless" attack on his life.
Source:
Telegraph India
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--------
Europe
Events
following Iran’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie
12
August, 2022
Indian-born
novelist Salman Rushdie, who was attacked on a New York state lecture stage on
Friday, spent years in hiding after he was ordered killed by Iran in 1989
because of his writing.
Following
are some key events that followed that death edict - or fatwa - issued by
Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the publication of Rushdie’s 1988
novel “The Satanic Verses,” which Khomeini deemed blasphemous to Islam.
-
Feb 12, 1989: At least six people are killed in the Pakistani city of Islamabad
in shooting between police and gunmen in a crowd protesting against the sale of
the novel in the United States.
-
Feb 14, 1989: The fatwa. Khomeini calls on all Muslims to kill Rushdie.
-
Feb 24, 1989: Twelve people are killed in Mumbai when police open fire to
prevent a crowd of 10,000 protesters marching on the British High Commission.
-
May 27, 1989: Pro-Iranian and pro-Iraqi factions clash when some 30,000 Muslim
demonstrators mass outside the British parliament.
-
Sept 14, 1989: Four bombs are planted outside bookshops in Britain owned by
Penguin, publisher of “The Satanic Verses.”
-
July 3, 1991: Ettore Capriolo, Italian translator of The Satanic Verses, is
beaten and attacked with a knife in his Milan flat by a man who says he is
Iranian.
-
July 12, 1991: Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi is stabbed to death in
Tokyo by an attacker who flees.
-
Sept 7, 1995: After six years under police protection and living in safe
houses, Rushdie appears in London in his first pre-announced public appearance
since the fatwa was issued.
-
Feb 12, 1997: Eight years after it first offered a reward, the Iranian
revolutionary 15th Khordad Foundation increases the bounty on Rushdie’s head to
$2.5 million.
-
Sept 22, 1998: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami says the Rushdie affair is
“completely finished.”
-
Sept 24, 1998: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi tells British Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook at the United Nations in New York that Iran will take no
action to threaten Rushdie’s life, nor encourage anybody else to do so.
-
Sept 28, 1998: Iranian media say three Iranian clerics have called on Islamic
followers to kill Rushdie under the fatwa.
-
Oct 4, 1998: Some 160 members of the Iranian parliament say the death decree
against Rushdie remains valid.
-
Oct 10, 1998: A hardline Iranian student group sets a one billion rial (then
$333,000) bounty on the head of Rushdie.
-
Oct 12, 1998: State-linked Iranian religious foundation raises its $2.5 million
bounty by $300,000.
-
Feb 3, 1999: Mumbai-born Rushdie is granted a visa by the Indian government to
visit his country of birth, triggering protests by Muslims.
-
June 15, 2007: Rushdie is awarded a knighthood by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for
services to literature, prompted diplomatic protests from Pakistan and Iran and
demonstrations in Pakistan and Malaysia.
-
Jan 20, 2012: Rushdie cancels plans to attend a major literature festival in
Jaipur, India, after protests from some Indian Muslim groups.
-
Sept 16, 2012: Iranian religious foundation raises its bounty for killing
Rushdie to $3.3 million.
-
June 20, 2014: Rushdie wins annual PEN/Pinter Prize for his support for freedom
of speech and what judges call his generous help to other writers.
-
Oct 13, 2015: Rushdie warns of new dangers to freedom of speech in the West
amid tight security at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Iranian Ministry of Culture
cancelled its national stand at the fair because of Rushdie’s appearance.
-
Feb 22, 2016: Iranian state-run media outlets add $600,000 to a bounty for the
killing of Rushdie.
-
June 1, 2022: Rushdie is made a Companion of Honor in the British Queen’s
annual birthday honors.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Sweden's
Left Party leader chides MPs for posing with PKK terror group's symbol
Atila
Altuntas
12.08.2022
STOCKHOLM
The
leader of Sweden’s Left Party on Friday criticized a group of parliamentarians
from the same party for posing with rags, which symbolizes the PKK terror
group.
Nooshi
Dadgostar told the Swedish daily Aftonbladet that she does not approve of the
Left Party lawmakers' recent actions.
The
statement came after lawmakers Daniel Riazat, Momodou Malcolm Jallow and Lorena
Delgado Varas in July posed with rags, which represent the PKK/YPG terror
outfit, and shared the images on social media.
Last
month, Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also decried the left-wing
parliamentarians for posing with rags symbolizing the terror group.
"[This]
is extremely inappropriate," Andersson told the country's TT news agency,
noting that the PKK is a designated terror organization not just in Sweden, but
throughout the EU.
Earlier,
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde also called the promotion of the terror
group "completely unacceptable."
"The
PKK was branded a terrorist organization as early as 1984 by Olof Palme’s
government. And with good reason. The PKK has many innocent human lives on its
conscience," she stated on Twitter, tagging Justice Minister Morgan
Johansson.
Linde
called on the Left Party to immediately stop supporting the PKK terror group.
Johansson
issued a similar warning to the Left Party on Twitter.
The
move by left-wing parliamentarians came despite assurances in an agreement
signed between Türkiye, Finland and Sweden to fully cooperate with Ankara in
fighting terrorism.
Sweden
and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May, a decision spurred by
Russia's war on Ukraine.
However,
Türkiye, a NATO member for more than 70 years, opposed the two countries'
membership aspirations due to their tolerance and even backing for terrorist
groups.
A
trilateral agreement signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland
and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK's Syrian offshoot,
nor to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the group behind the 2016
defeated coup in Türkiye -- and said Ankara extends full support to Finland and
Sweden against threats to their national security.
Following
the agreement, the leaders of NATO's 30 members signed the countries' ascension
protocols, a key step ahead of their formal entry into the alliance. The
legislatures of all standing members, including Türkiye's parliament, must now
ratify the bids before the process can conclude.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Monday that Ankara will not take a
positive attitude toward the membership bids unless Stockholm and Helsinki meet
their promises to fight terrorism.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Greek
state built on anti-Türkiye rhetoric: Turkish officials
Merve
Aydogan
12.08.2022
Despite
having at least 200 years of state history and a deeply-rooted Hellenic culture,
the Greek governance structure is built on an anti-Türkiye rhetoric, according
to Turkish Foreign Ministry officials.
Underscoring
Greece's contribution to the Western civilization via its language, technology,
medicine, theatre and Olympics, an official, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said such contribution gave Greece a "sense of
entitlement."
Saying
that such mentality is seen in almost all of Athens' moves, the official said
the West has granted Greece "its never-ending" trust.
Listing
the issues between Türkiye and Greece, the official said longstanding matters
such as the Aegean, Cyprus, Greek support to terrorism, and discrimination
against the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, are manageable, but new issues
surfaced such as migration, energy reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, as
well as changing the status of Hagia Sophia.
The
diplomat argued that Turkish decision to open Hagia Sophia for Muslims worship
"really" disturbed the Greeks and caused a "deep trauma."
Meanwhile,
Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) members fleeing to Greece is another
bone of contention between Ankara and Athens.
After
the July 15, 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye, neighboring Greece became a top
destination for FETO terrorists fleeing justice.
"Athens
is in a toxic, safe-haven state with the presence of terrorists from the
DHKP-C, PKK and FETO. All of their locations are known," the official
said, in response to a question on the refugee camp of Lavrion (Laurium) near
the Greek capital.
Stressing
that an EU country, in this day and age, is nurturing terrorists who have
nothing to do with freedom, the official reminded that the PKK is an entity
designated as terrorist organization not only by the EU but by the US as well.
"There
is no explanation for this, these are the groups that the Greek mentality feeds
on with the logic that 'it will help me one day against Türkiye'," the
senior official said, adding that it is no longer a transit country but a
destination country for terrorists.
According
to the Greek press estimates, since July 15, 2016, nearly 20,000 Turkish
citizens, mostly FETO members, crossed into Greece via the Aegean islands or
the Meric (Evros) River. While some of them went on to other European
countries, about 9,000 of them sought political asylum in Greece itself.
Despite
FETO's good relations with Greece, the officials argued there is no guarantee
that the terror group would not target it one day.
Arms
race
Greece
recently signed multiple big-ticket arm deals, including a deal for Israeli drones,
Rafale jets from France, and upgrades to its F-16 fleet from the US. Athens has
also approached Washington for the potential purchase of at least 20 F-35
stealth aircraft.
Another
diplomatic official, who also requested not to be named, defined Greek moves
illogical, saying Türkiye is almost entirely self-sufficient in defense, but
Greek is dependent on foreign sources, and also expressed concern over its
"sleep-walking into a conflict."
Türkiye
in recent months has stepped up criticism of Greece stationing troops on
islands in the eastern Aegean, near the Turkish coast and in many cases visible
from shore.
These
islands were required to be demilitarized under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and
the 1947 Treaty of Paris, so any troops or weapons on the islands are strictly
forbidden.
Citing
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar's recent remarks about arming the islands,
the official said "if the arms placed on the islands is for your
protection, then we ask why? Will the Italians attack? Or is it against me?
Then it is not enough."
The
official also called the moves "nonsense," saying: "We all have
difficulty in understanding the moves of Greece, including the Greek
people."
On
a question regarding the reason for Greece's frequent propaganda of "a
possible attack from Türkiye," the official said Athens is exaggerating
the situation and if its goal is "deterrence, then it is not a successful
one because it is triggering the move that it is trying to avoid."
"They
(Greece) are in a spiral and cannot get out. But a country, a nation, which is
restless at the social level, is making themselves uneasy."
Türkiye
has rejected the militarization of the islands by Greece since the beginning,
and has issued protests through diplomatic channels and requested the violations
to stop. The issue came to the UN and NATO agenda in the 1970s.
The
latest Turkish diplomatic move was to send a letter of complaint to the UN in
July 2021, saying the militarization of the islands posed a serious threat to
Türkiye's security.
Türkiye
began to make more frequent warnings to Greece in the recent years both because
"militarization of the islands have increased and the chips are
down," according to the official.
The
officials noted that Türkiye will not allow arming of the islands at Aegean
Sea, has enough and sufficient legal basis and thus taking the matter to the UN
is a correct move
Mutual
Defense Cooperation Agreement
On
the US military bases in Greece, the senior official said that there is a great
"theatrical play" going on.
"Americans
clearly felt that Türkiye is now pursuing an independent foreign policy and
cannot get what it wants, as it did during the cold war," the second
official said, adding that Greece's "biggest trick since the 1800s is to
gather the nations around and have them take a picture together saying: 'Look,
I have friends too'."
The
US-Greece Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement recently ratified by the Greek
parliament allows the US military to gain access to three more bases in Greece,
besides one it currently operates.
Through
the agreement that was inked in October 2021 in Washington DC, the two
countries aim to deepen and expand their defense cooperation.
It
will permit the US military to use Georgula Barracks in Greece's central
province of Volos, Litochoro Training Ground, and army barracks in the
northeastern port city of Alexandroupoli apart from the naval base in Souda Bay
in Crete, which the US has operated since 1969.
Airspace
'violations'
On
alleged Greek airspace violations by Türkiye, the second official said:
"It is a complete lie," adding: "Yes, our jets did approached
2.5 miles from Alexandroupoli. But first Greek jets flew on the Enez coast of
Edirne, they spin over (southwestern province of) Dalaman."
Noting
that Türkiye responded to the harassment of Greece, the official said the
Greeks "invented the theatres, and they are still continuing their
theatrical skills."
The
officials called the bill approved in the US House of Representatives last
month stipulating that the US' sale of F-16s to Türkiye are not be used in
'violation of Greek airspace' as "absurd".
On
the international law regarding Greek claims of airspace being accepted as 10
nautical miles, the official stressed that Türkiye's statements come in
accordance to international law.
"There
are different maritime jurisdictions. For instance, you have an island and you
have territorial waters around it. There is a place where those territorial
waters end. Thus, your airspace and your territorial waters end on top of each
other. You cannot claim airspace beyond territorial waters. There is no such
thing in the world," the official said.
Regarding
a story in Greek and European press that Türkiye is preparing to land on the
Greek islands during the Efes 2022 military drill, the senior official said:
"It (military exercise) is quite normal. It is done every two years,
different scenarios are applied."
Responding
to a question on the allegations that Greek ships were carrying Russian oil
under sanctions, despite the problems between Greece and Russia, the official
said: "The world's largest tanker trading market is in the hands of Greek
Cypriots and Greeks, it's like the facts of life."
Peace
not war
Expressing
that Greece is disturbed by the fact Türkiye is a "normative country that
sets rules," the official said Türkiye wants the Ukraine-Russia war to
end.
"We
say that the war must end; Why? Because Türkiye is a country that does trade.
It is not a war trade, it is a country that does normal, proper trade. A
country that makes money from tourism. Regional instability is not good for
Türkiye. That's why we are trying to end it."
The
senior diplomat reminded of Türkiye's position on annexation of Crimea by
Russia and said: "We have been telling Russia that it is not true, we
don't approve. But there is no reason to insult Moscow, we have relations with
Russia."
Noting
that Türkiye is ready to solve its problems with Greece on many platforms such
as facilitating negotiations, arbitration, and international courts, the second
official said: "International courts do not work like national courts.
First of all, you would have to agree on the disputes and write them down ...
Then you will also mention by which legal instruments you want these
international disputes to be resolved. We (Türkiye) want to go to court in all
matters, however, Greece just wants the continental shelf dispute. Athens does
not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice."
Describing
Greece's desire to take the continental shelf dispute to international court as
"cunning attitude", the official said: "There are at least over
1,000 Greek islands in the Aegean. We (Türkiye) have fewer islands. The gap in
the middle at 6 miles is half of the Aegean. When it is extended to 12 miles,
70% of the Aegean will be on the Greek side. From Istanbul to Izmir, you would
only be able to go from the shore. You can't solve problems until all
dimensions are discussed. But they (Athens) say, 'Let's just take the
continental shelf to international court'."
Wiretapping
scandal
Asked
about the recent wiretapping scandal, the official described it as the
"Greek Watergate."
"The
Greeks always go around as such apostles of democracy. But it turned out that
they were doing a lot of meaningless work. Their intelligence service was
listening (to Greek opposition officials) very legally. How is it legal? It's
pretty messed up."
Greek
intelligence chief Panagiotis Kontoleon and Prime Minister’s Secretary General
Grigoris Dimitriades resigned after details of targeting the head of an
opposition party and a journalist with spyware emerged.
Kyriakos
Mitsotakis has acknowledged “legal” wiretapping of Nikos Androulakis, leader of
the socialist PASOK party, for three months, but denies he knew about the
surveillance.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/greek-state-built-on-anti-turkiye-rhetoric-turkish-officials/2659984
--------
Germany
suspends military mission in Mali amid diplomatic tensions
12.08.2022
BERLIN
Germany
has suspended its military mission in Mali after diplomatic tensions with the
West African country, the government confirmed on Friday.
Defense
Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz told a news conference in Berlin that Malian
authorities on Friday denied clearance to a German transport plane, and once
again hindered troop rotation plans.
“Therefore,
we must take measures, and we’re suspending operations of our reconnaissance
forces and CH-53 transport flights until further notice," he said.
Collatz
said German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht had called her Malian
counterpart on Thursday, and received assurances that there will be no obstacles
to the planned troop rotation.
“But
now, the Malian government once again denied a German transport plane fly over
its territory,” he said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
India
Islamic
Centre Holds ‘Trianga Yatra’ Led By Its Chairman Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi
Mahali To Mark 75th I-Day Celebrations
Aug
13, 2022
Islamic
Centre of India here organised ‘Trianga Yatra’ led by its chairman Maulana
Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali on Friday as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to
mark the 75th Independence Day of the country. The Islamic Centre asked the
Muslims to participate in the celebrations as several clerics and leaders from
the community also laid down their lives for the freedom of the country.
Several Muslim youths participated in the ‘Tiranga Yatra’ led by Mahali.
“We
are proud of our achievements during the last 75 years, and it’s a matter of
great happiness and pride that we all are celebrating our triumphs. This day is
our national festival as people cutting across caste and community lines fought
for the freedom of the country. The youth must be told about the importance of
the freedom struggle (Jang-e-Azadi) and the sacrifices of the Ulema. After a
lot of sacrifices and efforts, the country managed to uproot the British
Empire. We should respect freedom,” said Mahali, who is also Imam Aishbagh
Eidgah. He appealed to the people to celebrate the 75th year of independence
with great pomp and joy.
He
said, “Many Muslim scholars, youths, clerics fought for the freedom of India
and that’s the reason to celebrate this day and take an oath to serve the
country with respect. We should also work to keep our country safe, protect
freedom and honour our country.”
Maulana
Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahli said that our national flag teaches us our duties
towards our country. “It reminds us that we are one. It reminds us of our
national unity and integrity. The three colours of the flag represent different
values. It defines our culture, heritage and unity,” he added.
He
said we all should love our national flag and decorate our homes, shops,
offices, establishments, and markets with the tricolour.
Lectures,
events at AMU to mark Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
AGRA
Lectures, competitions, camps, slogan writing and patriotic song competitions
are being held in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav’ being observed to mark 75 years of Independence.
Prof
Mohammad Sajjad, faculty member of the department of History, AMU, spoke about
how India broke the shackles of British rule by uniting over 350 million
people. He was putting the historic events in the hearts and minds of the
audience in a lecture on “The Indian National Movement and its Legacy”.
Delivering
the lecture Sajjad said: “The story of the Indian National Movement is
basically a story of social change through democratic means as a prolonged
process. This was the world’s biggest mass struggle for socio-economic
emancipation and an exercise in preventing the degeneration of politics into a
counter-revolution and authoritarianism.”
Deploring
the rise of communal forces in the late 1930s and 1940s, he said, “We entered
into the decisive 1940s with communal forces getting open and secret support
from the colonial state. In this period, Subhash Chandra Bose was quite clear
about the communal threats.”
He
added “Mohammad Ali Jinnah converted the minority rights discourse into
separatism. Having converted a minority into a nation, Jinnah and his colonial
benefactors inflicted most fatal injuries to the noble cause of minority
rights, in our subcontinent,” Sajjad added.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Clerics
Across Uttar Pradesh Mosques Urge Faithful To Hoist Tricolour On August 15
Aug
13, 2022
MUZAFFARNAGAR:
Ahead of the 75th Independence Day celebrations, several clerics in mosques
across Uttar Pradesh have urged people to hoist the tricolour at their homes
and "celebrate August 15 as a national festival".
During
the Friday prayers, the clerics also reminded the faithful that "Muslims
must follow the Sharia laws which very clearly states that we must be loyal and
love the country of our birth."
The
"patriotic" sermons by clerics could be heard from mosques across
Muzaffarnagar and Meerut districts and also other parts of the state on Friday
afternoon. One such cleric, Abid Mohammad Mehrban of a mosque in
Muzaffarnagar's South Khalapar area, said, "We belong to India. This is our
land. And we must love our land and nation and, if needed, be ready to
sacrifice our lives." He further said, "Our ancestors had sacrificed
a lot for our country's freedom from the hands of the British... Hundreds of
ulemas were hanged and many were jailed during their rule. How can we forget
that?"
Sheher
Qazi (Meerut) Zainus Sajidin said, "Both Hindus and Muslims fought
together to gain independence. Hence, during Friday sermons, I appealed to all
to hoist the tricolour not just at homes, but in madrasas and other community
places as well."
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Exiled
Bangladeshi Author Taslima Nasreen 'Worried' After Salman Rushdie Stabbed
August
13, 2022
New
Delhi: After author Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday, exiled Bangladeshi
author Taslima Nasreen made a strong statement saying that critics of Islam
will continue to be killed until the religion is reformed. “Critics of Islam
were first killed in the 7th century. They still get killed in the 21st
century. They will continue to be killed until Islam is reformed, free speech
is allowed, violence is denounced, the breeding ground for extremism is
demolished, no book is considered holy”, tweeted the exiled Bangladeshi author.
In
another tweet, she asserted that the Facebook account of Hadi Matar, the man
who stabbed the Booker prize winner, featured images of Ayatollah Khomeini of
Iran. For the unversed, Khomeini in 1989 had issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to
kill Rushdie following his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. Numerous
killings and bombings resulted in a response to the novel.
Source:
India.Com
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Bangladeshi
Muslims make flags for Har Ghar Tiranga, boycott them: Yati
12th
August 2022
After
making multiple disparaging statements against Muslims, Hindutva seer Yati
Narsinghanand urged Hindus not to purchase flags as he claimed that the main
manufacturer for the same is a Muslim company from Bangladesh. He further asked
Hindus to boycott the Prime Minister’s campaign for Independence Day “Har Ghar
Tiranga.”
Yati
urged Hindus not to purchase new flags for PM Modi’s “Har Ghar Tiranga”
campaign and alleged that Salauddin, a Muslim, is the company owner, supplying
the flags for this campaign.
Yati
also asked Hindus to boycott the campaign as the ruling party Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) have started this campaign to support Muslims. “If you want a flag
find your old one don’t buy a new one from Salahuddin. Don’t give him a single
rupee,” he added.
He
also alleged that any Hindus buying anything from Muslims is ‘jihad’ as the
money will be used for killing Hindus.
On
July 16, the UP police booked a case against Dasna Devi temple priest Yati
Narsinghanand Saraswati for derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.
What
is Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign?
‘Har
Ghar Tiranga’ is a campaign under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to
encourage people to bring the Tiranga home and to hoist it to mark the 75th
year of India’s independence.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
India
at 75: Upper caste Muslims have kept casteism in Islam hidden for personal
benefit: Faiyaz
Aug
12 2022
By
Rahul Kumar
New
Delhi, Aug 12: Social activist and Unani doctor, Faiyaz Ahmad Fyzie, has
ruffled many feathers among India's Muslim community. He has become a marked
man with his mother getting threatening phone calls about the safety of her
outspoken son.
Hailing
from a family of freedom fighters, who were closely aligned to the Congress,
Fyzie has been often found supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is also
the man who is putting the hitherto hidden problem of casteism among Muslims on
the frontline of debate and discussions in India.
On
the occasion of India's 75th independence anniversary, India Narrative speaks
with Fyzie about raging topics like Hindu-Muslim relations, social harmony, the
Modi government's relations with the minority community and why the Muslims do
not discuss caste discrimination within the community as fervently as the
Hindus discuss their own relationship with caste. Fyzie says that almost all
Muslim bodies are undemocratic and represent the views of the miniscule upper
caste Muslims.
Excerpts
from the interview:
IN:
We complete 75 years of independence. Where has Indian society reached in these
decades?
Fyzie:
Socially India has progressed. We have completed a satisfactory journey till
now. I will say we have done better than average.
I
say this because the political dispensation and the administration have tried
to deliver social justice in the country. Efforts at eliminating social
inequity were more pronounced among the Hindus than among the Muslims because
even the Brahmins agreed that the upper castes have wronged the low castes. But
the leaders among the Muslim community do not allow the low caste Muslims to
break out of the social barriers because they deny caste and discrimination
among Muslims.
I
will say that people professing the ideologies of the Left, liberal and Muslim
right wing did not allow the Muslims at the lowest socio-economic ladder to
come up in the social hierarchy because of personal selfish gains.
I,
as an Indian, as a Muslim and as an individual from a low socio-economic class
would say that the country is on the right track in terms of uplifting the
society. This is because government schemes have benefited low caste Muslims
while schemes targeted at minorities have only benefited the upper caste
Muslims because they garnered the gains from such schemes.
IN:
You speak about caste-based fissures among Muslims. Can you elaborate about
casteism in the community?
Fyzie:
We look at this from the context of caste among the Hindus-which is
largely-occupation based discrimination.
Among
the Muslims the highest caste of people are the Ashraafs-which comprise the
ruling classes in India who came from abroad. Here we also have the Rajputs who
had converted as they too were the ruling class in India.
Next
come the Ajlaaf-most of the working class of people comprising weavers,
ironsmiths and artisans.
The
lowest in the Muslim castes are Arjaals-sweepers, scavengers and those who work
with leather.
Among
these three castes in the Muslims, we have clubbed the Ajlaafs and the Arjaals
together as the 'Pasmanda' Muslims. I call them 'desaj samaj' or indigenous
Muslims. These are the Hindus from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the SCs
and STs who converted to Islam.
The
Ashraafs-the upper caste Muslims say that casteism in the community seeped in
from the Hindus. This is a widely-accepted view among the Left, the Hindus and
everyone else. But I do not agree with this argument-I ask them that after
having lived with the Hindus for centuries you only absorbed the vice of caste
from the Hindus. Why did Muslims not absorb the positives-liberal values,
secularism and harmony, from Hinduism? It is because the Muslims had their own
discriminatory practices based on classes, races and sects as it spread from
the Arab world.
IN:
Do the Muslims in the other countries of the sub-continent also practice
casteism, for example, in Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Fyzie:
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh are basically India. Therefore, the caste issues
that we see in India are to be found there also. However, in India, the
constitution and government schemes have improved our social condition. In
Pakistan, the Pasmanda Muslims are in a bad shape because the rulers treat them
like slaves.
Pakistan
is a heaven for the ruling Ashraaf Muslims while it is a hell for the Pasmanda
Muslims.
We
have to go back to the Arab world and the pre-Islamic tribes to understand
casteism and discrimination among the Muslims. Though Prophet Mohammed tried to
control racism related issues, he could only succeed partly.
We
have to understand that the Saudis, the Turks, the Iranians, and now the
Afghans, have practiced discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity. What
I am trying to say is that discrimination exists in Islam from ancient times.
It is not entirely a Hindu import.
IN:
Why is it that casteism among Muslims is not discussed by the community as it
has been discussed and debated within the Hindus?
Fyzie:
The Muslims do not want to discuss casteism in Islam. The Ashraafs-the Muslim
upper castes, want to protect their turf. They feel that social justice in India
will take the power out of their hands. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) does not hold elections because its luminaries fear that they will
lose control. In fact, no Muslim organisation has democracy.
Even
if the Muslims are a minority in India, the benefits go to a small section of
upper caste Muslims. A low caste Muslim finds it easy to get admission to the
Benaras Hindu University (BHU) but not in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
because the Muslim leaders have cornered the benefits for themselves.
That
is why the low caste Muslims-the Pasmandas, do not want minority status. We do
not want benefits based on our religious identity. We can only uplift ourselves
through government schemes that provide us socio-economic benefits.
IN:
You say that Indian society has made progress. We also have many Muslim
activists and NGOs, so how is it possible that Muslims from the lowest classes
and castes have not progressed?
Fyzie:
No social reforms exist among the Muslims. There is no concept of social
justice in the community because it is led by the upper caste Muslims. There is
no discussion or acceptance of criticism in the community.
The
NGOs are all run by the Ashraafs. They run such organisations under the garb of
ideologies-Left, minority and some are run by Maulanas. Yeh sab log aapna
varchasv banaye rakhna chahtein hain (They all want to maintain their
hegemony).
When
I contrast the situation with the Hindus, I find they realise the need for
social reforms. That is why they accept the evil of casteism and debate its
elimination. Indians have always been diverse for 5,000 years. They do not
bother about the differences and have accepted diversity.
We
feel that we are still being led by Mughal rulers. Would you believe that the
low caste Muslims were not allowed to go to madrasas by the Mughal rulers.
Similar examples of discrimination and racism against the low caste Muslims
abound in times of Islamic rule.
IN:
Is India becoming communal?
Fyzie:
If the Hindus are becoming communal, they talk about it and then take steps to
eliminate it. But then we also see that communalism among the Muslims is not
discussed. The fact is that communalism among the Muslims is very strong.
For
example, the Muslim League was formed much earlier than the Hindu Mahasabha.
My
take is that if you want to finish off communalism from India, then you have to
eliminate Muslim communalism first. The communal thinking among the Hindus will
reduce on its own.
IN:
Do you think India is becoming Islamophobic?
Fyzie:
Regarding Islamophobia in India, the Ashraafs use Islamophobia as a tool. The
moment you talk about social reforms and social justice among the Muslims, the
upper caste Muslims begin alleging Islamophobia. If you ruffle the Muslim
society by talking about reforms, the Muslim right wing immediately labels you
Islamophobic.
These
concepts are harming the Indian social fabric. The secular, Left and liberal
establishments accept whatever is said by the upper caste Muslims.
There
are Hindus who are communal but they are very less in number.
IN:
The BJP government has been criticised over a number of policy decisions it has
taken related to the Muslim community. What is your take on these?
Fyzie:
I think the Modi government has taken steps to bring about reforms in the community.
Banning
triple talaq has benefited the Pasmanda Muslims, particularly women. Divorce
among the lower levels in the community brings shame not just to the woman but
her family also. Divorce and remarriage are acceptable among the upper classes,
but not among the people at the bottom of the hierarchy.
The
elimination of Article 370 will benefit the Pasmanda Muslims. Certain castes or
sections of Muslims like the Bakkerwals, the Gaddis and the Van Gujjars will be
benefited. Till now all the political power in Kashmir was with the Ashraafs.
The low caste Muslims did not enjoy the benefits of government schemes in
Kashmir.
IN:
Can there be truth and reconciliation among the Muslims and Hindus? How can we
see religious harmony among the communities?
Fyzie:
Jab aap Pasmanda samaj ko aage karanege tab aasani se Hinduon aur Mussalmano
mein samjhota hoga (If you uplift the Pasmanda Muslims, harmony will happen
automatically between the Hindus and Muslims).
We
have to remember that the low caste Muslims have always identified themselves
with Hindu customs and traditions because they have co-existed with the Hindus
for ages. The Pasmanda Muslims will wear sarees, use sindur, and gift shringar
during weddings-all of which are Hindu customs. But the high caste Muslims call
these Hinduana (Hindu beliefs), therefore, gair-Islamic (non-Islamic).
This
cultural discrimination has remained within the Islamic society because of
Ashraafs.
Truth
and reconciliation will happen if the Ashraafs are controlled. They still act
as if they are the rulers, therefore, they look at us with the same mentality.
When they go abroad, they give hate speeches against India and portray the
Hindus in a negative light.
Source:
Daiji World
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=988896
--------
J&K
Govt Sacks 4 Employees Including Son Of Hizbul Chief Salahuddin
Aug
13, 2022
SRINAGAR:
The Jammu and Kashmir administration Saturday sacked its four employees
including son of Syed Salahuddin, the chief of banned Hizbul Mujahideen, and
the wife of terror-funding accused Bitta Karate, officials said.
All
the four employees were dismissed from service under Article 311 of the
Constitution which enables the government to sack its employees without an
inquiry.
Farooq
Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate is currently in judicial custody in terror-funding
cases, officials said. His wife Assabah-ul-Arjamand Khan, a Jammu and Kashmir
Administrative Services officer, was posted in the Directorate of Rural
Development.
Syed
Abdul Mueed, manager, information and technology at Department of industries
and Commerce, is son of Syed Salahuddin, the Pakistan-based chief of banned
terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Sulli
Deals app: SC to hear plea seeking clubbing of FIRs
Aug
13, 2022
The
Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a petition by the alleged creator of
Sulli Deals app, Aumkareshwar Thakur, for clubbing multiple first information
reports (FIRs) against him and hand over the probe to a single agency.
The
app uploaded photos of several Muslim women, without their consent, for a
virtual ‘auction’.
A
bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh issued notices to states
of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi where the FIRs against Thakur are
currently pending under charges of online harassment and hate speech.
The
court, however, refused to consider Thakur’s plea to stay the investigations at
this juncture, saying it will only seek replies from the states for the time
being to ascertain whether the FIRs can at all be clubbed when the complainants
before the investigators could be more than one.
While
advocate Rajeev Sharma, representing Thakur, argued that the subject matter of
all FIRs is the same, the court pointed out that the cases relate to two
different websites – Sulli Deals and Bulli Bai, which is similar to Sulli Deals
and engaged in defaming and trolling Muslim women online.
“That
cannot be the same offence. There are two websites. One is Sulli Deals and the
other is Bulli Bai. Can that be said to be conjoint? There are multiple
uploads. Each person would have filed independently,” said the bench.
It
added: “It may not be the part of the same transaction. You have uploaded
photographs of several persons. Each one of them can be a complainant. Can you
say they must prosecute a joint FIR? Can you say whatever you do on your
websites, there can only be one FIR?”
As
the bench agreed to seek replies from the states on Thakur’s plea, his lawyer
requested a stay of the investigation in the meantime. But the bench retorted:
“Only notice...we have our doubts.”
In
his petition filed through advocate Sahil Bhalaik, Thakur pleaded with the top
court to shift all the criminal cases against him to one place and to one
agency, as was done by the court in several other cases. The plea maintained
that the accusations against him in the FIRs pertain to developing the two
websites and therefore, they could be investigated by a single agency.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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41-yr-old
accused of active role in Kanhaiya Lal murder arrested by NIA
Aug
12, 2022
NEW
DELHI: A 41-year-old accused of playing an “active role” in the conspiracy to
murder tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Rajasthan’s Udaipur in June has been arrested,
the ninth person to be caught in the case by the National Investigation Agency
(NIA), the agency said on Friday.
NIA
identified the man as Muslim Khan, 41, a resident of Pratapgarh in Rajasthan. A
statement by NIA said he was arrested on August 10.
Two
men, Riyaz Attari and Gaus Mohammad, hacked Kanhaiya Lal Teli to death on June
28 for supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur
Sharma’s contentious remarks on Prophet Mohammed. The accused captured the
killing on their phones and also issued a threat to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi as they posed with the knives used in the murder. The two were caught
hours later. NIA took over the case later on orders of the Union home ministry
in view of the threat made to PM Modi.
Investigations
have revealed so far that all the accused persons were self-radicalised.
Besides
the Udaipur killing, NIA is also probing the murder of a chemist in
Maharashtra’s Amravati district on June 21. The chemist, Umesh Kolhe (54), was
also allegedly murdered for his social media posts supporting Sharma.
No
organised gang or terror outfit has so far claimed responsibility for both the
Udaipur and Amravati killings. Investigators are also trying to ascertain if
there is a link between the two cases.
Sharma’s
comments on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate on May 26 triggered an
international outcry and domestic protests.
Among
the eight men arrested by NIA is Mohammad Javed, 19, the eighth man to be
caught, who is alleged to have “played an important role in the conspiracy to
kill Kanhaiya Lal by conducting reconnaissance and passing on information about
Lal’s presence at his shop to the main killer, Riyaz Attari, prior to the
gruesome attack”.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Jaish
terrorist linked to Pak-based Taliban arrested by UP ATS, was tasked to kill
Nupur Sharma
August
13, 2022
Nupur
Sharma news: The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh Police (UP ATS) arrested
a Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist on Friday, who was tasked to kill suspended BJP
leader Nupur Sharma. Sources said that the terrorist was arrested from
Saharanpur, and was associated to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The
arrested terrorist has been identified as Muhammad Nadeem (25), a resident of
Kunda Kala village of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur. JeM (Jaish-e-Muhammad) and
TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban) were in direct contact with the terrorist Muhammad
Nadeem, informed UP ATS.
The
terror conspiracy was busted under the leadership of ADG ATS Naveen Arora. The
UP ATS received information that a man in Saharanpur, influenced by JeM and TTP
ideology, was preparing for 'Fidayeen' attack.
Following
this, Muhammad Nadeem was identified and interrogated. During primary
investigation, a mobile phone was recovered from him, in which a PDF document
titled "Explosive Course Fidae Force" was found, informed the ATS.
Besides
this, the police have found Muhammad Nadeem's phone chat including voice
messages with Jaish-e-Muhammad and TTP terrorists of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
During interrogation, Nadeem said that he has been in touch with various
terrorists of Jaish-e-Muhammad and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan since 2018 via
WhatsApp, Telegram, IMO, Facebook Messenger, Club House etc.
The
terrorist is trained in creating virtual phone numbers from terror
organisations. A Pakistani named Saifullah was training him to carry out a
'Fidayeen' attack on government buildings or police forces. Nadeem was asked to
travel to Pakistan for special training.
Source:
India TV News
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Taliban
Fighters Swap Arms For Books As Hundreds Return To School
Aug
13, 2022
Gul
Agha Jalali used to spend his nights planting bombs -- hoping to target an
Afghan government soldier or, better still, a foreign serviceman. These days,
the 23-year-old Taliban member is studying English and has enrolled in a
computer science course in the capital, Kabul.
"When
our country was occupied by infidels, we needed bombs, mortars and guns,"
says Jalali, an employee at the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.
Now
there is a greater need for education, he told AFP.
Since
the Taliban swept back to power in August last year, hundreds of fighters have
returned to school -- either on their own or pushed by their commanders.
The
word "Taliban" actually means "students" in Arabic, and the
hardline Islamist movement's name stems from the religious schools in southern
Afghanistan it emerged from in the 1990s.
Most
Taliban fighters were educated in these madrassas, where studies are largely
limited to the Koran and other Islamic themes.
Many
conservative Afghan clerics -- particularly among the Taliban -- are sceptical
of more modern education, apart from subjects than can be applied practically,
such as engineering or medicine.
"The
world is evolving, we need technology and development," said Jalali, who
planted bombs for five years but is now among a dozen Taliban studying
computers at the transport ministry.
-
'Motivated mujahideen' -
The
desire of fighters like Jalali to go back to school shows Afghans yearned for
education, government spokesman Bilal Karimi said.
"Many
motivated mujahideen who had not completed their studies reached out to
educational institutions and are now studying their favourite courses," he
told AFP.
But
education is a hugely problematic issue in the country, with secondary school
girls barred from classes since the Taliban returned to power -- and no sign of
them being allowed back despite promises from some in the leadership.
While
the earlier curriculum largely remains the same, studies on music and sculpture
have been scrapped at schools and universities, which are suffering a paucity
of teachers and lecturers following an exodus of Afghanistan's educated elite.
But
some Taliban students, like Jalali, have big plans.
Kabul's
Muslim Institute has a student body of around 3,000 -- half of them women --
and includes some 300 Taliban fighters, many distinctive with their bushy
beards and turbans.
On
a recent tour, AFP saw one Taliban fighter retrieve a pistol from a locker room
at the end of his lessons -- an incongruous sight in a pastel-coloured room
adorned with posters of smiling co-ed students.
"When
they arrive, they hand over their weapons. They don't use force or take
advantage of their position," said an institute official who asked not to
be named.
-
Desire to study -
Amanullah
Mubariz was 18 when he joined the Taliban but never gave up his desire to
study.
"I
applied to a university in India, but I failed my English test," said
Mubariz, now 25, declining to reveal his current position in the Taliban.
"That's
why I enrolled here," he said, referring to the Muslim Institute.
Mohammad
Sabir, in contrast, is happy to admit he works for the Taliban's intelligence
agency despite also being a student at the private Dawat University.
"I
resumed my studies this year after the victory of the Islamic Emirate," he
says, his long hair and eyes lined with traditional kohl eyeliner peeking out
from beneath a white turban.
Like
Jalali, he paused his education to join the Taliban and also planted bombs and
carried out ambushes with his brother in Wardak province.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Afghanistan’s
media in doom as country loses nearly 60 pc journalists under Taliban rule
12
August, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], August 12 (ANI): Expressing concerns over the situation of
journalists in Afghanistan, Reporters Without Borders in its report said that
country has lost 39.59 per cent of its media outlets and almost 60 per cent of
its journalists since the Taliban took over the South Asian nation on August
15.
Reporters
Without Borders is an international non-profit and non-governmental
organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of
information.
In
its latest report, RSF report reads, “According to a Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) survey, in the year since the Taliban took power on 15 August 2021,
Afghanistan has lost 39.59 pc of its media outlets and 59.86 pc of its
journalists, especially women journalists, three quarters of whom are now unemployed
and no longer exist in 11 provinces. All this has happened amid a deep economic
crisis and crackdown on press freedom.”
The
report brought to light that journalism in Afghanistan has been drastically
curbed and reduced in terms of number of journalists and media outlets,
reported Tolo News.
RSF
secretary-general Christophe Deloire said, “Journalism has been decimated
during the past year in Afghanistan.”
“Media
and journalists are being subjected to iniquitous regulations that restrict
media freedom and open the way to repression and persecution. The authorities
must undertake to end the violence and harassment inflicted on media workers,
and must allow them to do their job unmolested.”
Comparatively,
the situation has deteriorated to a great deal and this is confirmed by the
numbers prior to 15 August 2021. According to RSF’s report, Afghanistan had 547
media outlets prior to 15 August 2021 while one year later in 2022, 219 ceased
their activities.
“RSF’s
survey leaves little doubt about the massive impact that the fall of Kabul and
the creation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have had on the media.
Afghanistan had 547 media outlets prior to 15 August 2021. One year later, 219
ceased their activities. And of the 11,857 journalists tallied prior to 15
August 2021, there are only 4,759 now. Women journalists have been impacted
most – 76.19% of them have lost their jobs,” according to the RSF report.
One
of such journalists who is now concerned and ambiguous about his future in the
media industry is Samiullah Taniz. He works in Kabul and is one of the hundreds
of reporters in the country whose future is doomed.
Meena
Habib, another journalist, said, “I have worked in the media for nine years of
my life and I have not found time to learn another career.”
Hojatullah
Mujadidi, chairman of the Afghan Independent Journalists Association, said,
“The Islamic Emirate should work with the media and journalists to set up a
committee to deal with media violations and access to information.”
After
the US troops left the Afghan soil amid fears of the Taliban regime, thousands
of journalists fled the country. Some of them are currently living in Pakistan
and other countries with no clear future plans, as per the media portal.
Taliban
have been accused of blocking the way of a journalist with guns from coverage
and reportedly whipping the media person.
A
local Afghan news outlet has released a video circulating on social media
giving insight into the violent treatment going on in Afghanistan under the
Taliban regime.
Since
the Taliban took over Afghanistan in mid-August last year, it rolled back
women’s rights advances and media freedom revoking the efforts on gender
equality and freedom of speech in the country.
The
Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) had expressed concern at the incident in
which the female host of Dost Radio in Nangarhar province in eastern
Afghanistan, Selagi Ehsaas was recently attacked by unidentified gunmen.
AFJC
condemned violence against the media and journalists after the beating of
Selagi Ehsaas, who was returning from work on July 20, when she was stopped by
unidentified gunmen and pistol-whipped in Moi Mubarak village of Surkh Rod
district in Nangarhar province, reported Khaama Press.
The
locals brought Selagi to the hospital after she fell unconscious due to the
attack, the locals said, adding that she is still in shock and fear.
She
said she does not “feel safe”, Khaama Press reported, quoting locals.
It
is alleged that the female broadcaster was beaten by the Taliban and was also
said to work as a midwife in one of the private hospitals; however, the
Information and Culture Department of the Taliban in Nangarhar province has
denied the claims.
Previously,
on June 6, the manager of Dost Radio, Sahar Sirat Safi, was detained by Taliban
intelligence in Kabul and released after 28 days.
According
to UNAMA, there have been significant changes in the country’s media landscape,
including the closure of more than half of the free media, the evacuation of
hundreds of journalists, and rising work restrictions, violence, and threats
against journalists.
Earlier
in May, while reporting a women’s demonstration, journalist Roman Karimi and
his driver were detained and tortured by the Taliban.
Over
45 per cent of journalists have quit since the Taliban assumed power. The
ever-increasing restrictions against media in Afghanistan have also drawn
widespread criticism globally with the United Nations (UN) and the Committee to
Protect Journalists (CPJ) decrying the arrests, demanding the Taliban stop
harassing local journalists and stifling freedom of speech through continued
detentions and threats.
Source:
The Print
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Afghan
migrants continue to face abuse from Iranian border guards, traffickers
MODASER
ISLAMI
August
13, 2022
KABUL:
When Mohammad Parwiz was trying to cross from Iran to Turkey in search of a
better life, he was caught by Iranian police guards and subjected to forced
labor before being deported back to Afghanistan.
Parwiz
is just one among hundreds of Afghans trying to cross the Iranian border every
day to find employment abroad. He is also one of an increasing number to face
abuse in the process.
Iran
has for decades hosted millions of Afghans fleeing armed conflict in their
war-torn country. The number jumped to 5 million from nearly 4 million last
year, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry data, as economic restrictions
imposed on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 triggered
unprecedented levels of poverty.
“As
embassies closed in August last year, I had no other way but to go to Iran
illegally,” Parwiz, a 22-year-old from the northern Baghlan province, told Arab
News.
“I
stayed in Iran for three months working at my relative’s bakery. My friends and
I were caught by a border police patrol close to Turkey’s border.
“We
were kept in jail for 12 days where we were forced to do hard labor and if we
didn’t, they would hit us. We wouldn’t get proper food during that time. They
constantly threatened us that if we come to Iran again, we may get killed.
After 12 days of forced labor, humiliation, abuse and torture by Iran’s police,
we were sent back to Afghanistan.”
Allegations
of mistreatment of Afghans in Iran have been on the rise since last year.
Reports include abuse not only by the Iranian police, but also human
traffickers.
Ahmad
Jalil, a 19-year-old from Laghman province, tried to leave Afghanistan and go
via Iran to Turkey, from where he wanted to reach Europe with a group of 15
other teenagers.
“We
paid a lot of money to the trafficker here but when we entered Iran through the
border in Nimroz province during the night, we were received by another person
after walking in the desert for hours,” he said.
The
second smuggler asked them for more money.
“The
trafficker would abuse us and would beat some of us,” Jalil said. “He even
threatened us with death.”
Eventually,
Jalil was abandoned and managed to return to Afghanistan on his own.
“We
have cases of Afghan migrants being abused, beaten up and even killed,” Sayed
Hazratullah Zaeem, a commissioner at Islam Qala, a border town in Herat
province, near the Afghanistan–Iran border, told the Afghan media on Thursday.
Abdullah
Qayoum, an official of the Department of Refugees and Repatriation in Herat,
confirmed the reports of abuse.
“Afghans
who want to go there (Iran), some of them are sent back after being tortured,”
he said.
In
April, videos circulated on social media showing civilians being manhandled by
men dressed like Iranian security forces sparked a wave of demonstrations
targeting Iranian diplomatic missions in Kabul and Herat, and a diplomatic
protest by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities.
“The
border police in Iran are so brutal. For them we are not even humans,” said
Mohammad Karim, a recent graduate from Kabul, who tried to cross from Iran to
Turkey earlier this year.
Source: Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2141656/world
--------
Taliban
torn over reforms one year after seizing power
August
13, 2022
KANDAHAR:
One year on from the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, some cracks are
opening within their ranks over the crucial question of just how much reform
their leaders can tolerate.
Infamous
during their first reign for their brutal crackdowns on rights and freedoms,
the Islamists vowed to rule differently this time.
On
a superficial level at least, they appear to have changed in some respects.
Officials
in Kabul have embraced technology, while cricket matches are cheered in full
stadiums.
Televisions
were banned under the Taliban government’s first incarnation, while Afghans now
have access to the Internet and social media.
Girls
are allowed to attend primary school and women journalists are interviewing
government officials — unthinkable during the Taliban’s first stint in power in
the 1990s.
The
group’s hard-line core, composed of battle-hardened veteran fighters, is
against any significant ideological change that could be viewed as a sign of
capitulation to their enemies in the West.
“You
have one (Taliban) camp, which is pushing ahead with what they’re seeing as
reforms, and another camp that seems to think even these meagre reforms are too
much,” said Ibraheem Bahiss, an Afghanistan analyst with International Crisis
Group.
The
United States and its allies — which had bankrolled Afghanistan for 20 years —
have locked the country out of the global banking system and billions in frozen
assets abroad, as they hold out for reforms from the Taliban.
Without
significant progress, it is the Afghan people who suffer as the country reels
under a massive economic crisis that has seen some families choose between
selling their organs or their infant daughters.
On
whether the Taliban are even capable of reform, analysts are wary that recent
policy changes amount to little more than “tokenism.”
“There
are some cases where we could point to an evolution in policy, but let’s be
very clear... We’re still looking at an organization that has refused to move
beyond very retrograde, dogmatic views,” said Michael Kugelman, an Afghanistan
specialist with the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.
Most
secondary schools for girls remain closed. Many women have been forced out of
government work, while many fear venturing out and being chastised by the
Taliban.
Simple
joys such as music, shisha and card games are strictly controlled in the most
conservative areas, while protests have been crushed and journalists regularly
threatened or detained.
Demands
from the West for an inclusive government were ignored, and the assassination
of Al-Qaeda’s leader in Kabul last week underlined the Taliban’s ongoing ties
with jihadist groups.
It
is from the Taliban’s power base of southern Kandahar that the secretive
supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada gathers his powerful inner circle of
veteran fighters and religious clerics to impose a harsh interpretation of
sharia.
And
for them, ideological concerns outweigh any political or economic drivers to
effect change.
“The
needs of the Afghans remain the same as 20 years ago,” Mohammad Omar Khitabi, a
member of a council of clerics who advise Akhundzada in Kandahar, told AFP.
His
thoughts are echoed by Kandahar’s Vice and Virtue Director Abdul Rahman Tayabi,
another close aide of the supreme leader.
“Our
people do not have too many demands, like people in other countries might
have,” he told AFP.
Afghan
families were left stunned in March when Akhundzada overturned the education
ministry’s decision to reopen secondary schools for girls.
Some
analysts believe he felt uneasy over what could be seen by hard-liners as an
act of surrender to the West on girls’ rights.
Hopes
of restoring international money flows were shattered — to the dismay of many
Taliban officials in Kabul, some of whom spoke out against the decision.
Relations
with Western diplomats — who meet regularly with Taliban ministers but have no
access to Akhundzada — suffered a major setback.
A
slew of directives that harked back to the first reign of the Taliban quickly
followed.
“The
decisions that (Akhundzada) has made so far are all based on the opinions of
religious scholars,” said Abdul Hadi Hammad, the head of a madrassa and member
of the supreme leader’s advisory council.
Akhundzada
has stressed the need for unity in the movement as he carefully seeks to
balance several factions — including competing groups that claim the credit for
the 2021 victory over US-led forces.
While
advisers to Akhundzada claim the Taliban can survive without foreign income,
unlocking billions of dollars in frozen assets abroad would be a crucial
lifeline.
“We
know the Taliban can be transactional, but they cannot appear to be
transactional,” a Western diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Within
the movement, no one dares openly challenge Akhundzada’s power, but discontent
is quietly growing among the lower ranks.
“Taliban
guards are getting their salaries late, and their salaries are low too. They
are unhappy,” said one mid-level Taliban official based in northwestern
Pakistan, who asked not to be named.
Many
have returned to their villages or traveled to Pakistan to take up different
work, another Taliban member added.
Attempts
by the movement to shore up revenue through lucrative coal mining have sparked
infighting in the north, exacerbated by ethnic divisions and religious
sectarianism.
With
winter only a few months away, food security and freezing temperatures will put
even more pressure on the leaders of one of the world’s poorest countries.
These
mounting stresses have the potential to worsen divisions, Kugelman said, though
likely not enough to force any dramatic shift in policy.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2141746/world
--------
Southeast Asia
Operators
predicts thousands of 'mamak' outlets nationwide to fold by year-end from
worker shortage
By
Ben Tan
13
Aug 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, Aug 13 00 Some 1,500 Indian-Muslim restaurants, popularly called
"mamak" restaurants, are expected to close nationwide following the
lack of foreign workers and also finding local workers, said the Malaysian
Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma).
The
Malaysian Reserve quoted Presma president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan saying
that the lack of foreign workers has caused 3,000 restaurant operators out of
12,000 registered association members to be closed since the Covid-19 pandemic
started more than two years ago.
"The
lack of workers has a major impact on the survival of the food service and
restaurant industry since the ban on the entry of foreign workers was enforced.
"Since
the pandemic, in my chain of restaurants alone, more than 250 restaurant
workers have returned to India and have not been able to re-enter the country
while the mamak restaurant industry needs at least 30,000 more workers to fill
vacancies across the country,” Jawahar Ali was quoted saying.
The
acute manpower shortage which hit the food services and restaurant sector since
the Covid-19 pandemic began had forced thousands of mamak restaurants
nationwide to close their businesses since 2020.
Most
of the foreign workers hired had returned home due to expired working permits,
while some were stranded in their country of origin during the pandemic after
returning there for a holiday. There have been difficulties in obtaining local
workers to fill the vacancies.
Meanwhile,
the report also reached out to the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia
(PPIM) head activist Datuk Nadzim Johan who said that the government needs to
act immediately to save the industry and thousands of affected workers.
Jawahar
Ali said that his association, PPIM and the Malaysian Indian Restaurant
Employers Association, as well as Malaysian Muslim Wholesalers and Retailers
Association, urged the government to extend the period of hiring foreign
workers to October 2022.
He
requested the government to refine each proposal of non-governmental
organisations (NGO) representing various affected industries before other
policy amendments are introduced to help their members get foreign workers.
"The
announcement by the government will have a big impact because the labour
shortage in all sectors is still ongoing and has not been resolved where the
situation of traders requires the services of foreign workers, especially in
the endemic phase.
"Currently,
only 30 per cent of the association members received foreign worker approval
while 70 per cent of the applications are still in the system,” he said.
On
August 5, the Human Resources Ministry announced that the application for
hiring foreign workers has been temporarily halted from August 15 to 31 to
allow a review of foreign worker application procedures to be made.
Source:
Malay Mail
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Turun
protesters to ‘celebrate’ Ismail’s first year as PM
August
12, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: A protest rally is being planned to “celebrate” Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s
first year as prime minister next Saturday, highlighting failures in resolving
major issues plaguing the country.
The
government’s failings were said to include the rising prices of goods, food
security, and the scandal involving the procurement of naval warships.
The
rally organisers, the “Turun Committee”, said the Himpunan Kerajaan Gagal would
be held outside the Sogo shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur. Last month, the group
had organised the “Turun” rally in protest against rising prices.
The
committee said in a statement: “It is clear that the policies, actions and
behaviour of the Ismail-led government and Umno have failed in all aspects, as
they are there only for power and are bereft of ideas to develop the country.
“We
need to get down and celebrate Ismail’s first anniversary as prime minister and
demand pay cuts among the members of his Cabinet and the return of a year’s
worth of pay by the prime minister and his ministers.”
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
5
local churches that are architectural masterpieces
August
13, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: There are many houses of worship in Malaysia that leave people in awe of
their exquisite architecture. More than just places where the faithful gather
to pray, these sites also often have a compelling and rich history.
Two
of those places include the famous Christ Church in Melaka and the St Mary’s
Anglican Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur – whose buildings are a lovely reminiscence
of time past.
FMT
takes a look at five other beautiful churches in the country.
St
Peter’s Church, Melaka
St
Peter’s Church is said to be the oldest operational Roman Catholic church in
Malaysia. Located in Melaka, it is beautifully preserved and has a gorgeous
white facade.
Here’s
a fun fact: although the church was constructed in 1710, it has an even older
bell! It was made in Goa, India back in 1608 and was brought over from another
church that was burnt by the Dutch.
When
the foreign power first took over Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641, they persecuted
the Catholics in the state – and this included destroying their churches.
It
wasn’t until a later date that the Portuguese Catholics in Malacca had an
easier time. It is even believed that the land on which the church is built was
donated by a Dutch gentleman.
St
George’s Church, Penang
Against
the backdrop of a blue sky, St George’s church in Penang’s George Town is
undeniably a charming sight. With its sturdy Grecian columns, one can’t help
but draw comparisons between the Anglican church to buildings in ancient
Greece.
Constructed
in the 19th century, the plans for the church building are generally attributed
to Governor William Petrie and Robert N Smith of Madras Engineers.
However,
it was the hands of Indian convicts who built the building with brick and lime
mortar on a solid plastered stone base. There is also a memorial for Francis
Light – the founder of the British colony in the state – on its lawn.
However,
the church was nearly destroyed during the Japanese occupation, when it
suffered serious damage in an air raid. Much of its contents were also
subsequently stolen.
It
wasn’t until 1948 – when repair work was completed – that services for
parishioners resumed. In 2007, the church was declared a Malaysian National
Treasure.
Church
of the Holy Rosary, Kuala Lumpur
Although
there are many skyscrapers in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the Church of
the Holy Rosary is able to hold its own among them – despite being more than a
century old.
In
1903, one Father Terrien was tasked to care for the Chinese Catholic community
in Kuala Lumpur and he decided to build a church. He subsequently identified
and bought a piece of land in Brickfields.
Construction
then followed and the church was completed 18 months later. However, it had no
steeple and wings at first. These were only added to the structure in later
years.
St
Michael’s and All Angels Church, Sabah
The
St Michael’s and All Angels church in Sandakan, Sabah is a quaint-looking stone
building that dates back to the 19th century.
Designed
by a New Zealand architect BW Mountfort, it is said that the church was
modelled after ChristChurch Cathedral in his country.
There
are also stained-glass windows in this Anglican church – an initiative by
relatives of some Australian Prisoners of War. Apart from being a memorial to
the brave soldiers, they also wanted to extend a gesture of appreciation to the
locals who risked their lives to help these soldiers during the Japanese
occupation.
The
church is also part of the Sandakan Heritage Trails – a walk that connects
important historical sites in the town.
Church
of our Lady of Lourdes, Selangor
Almost
a century old, the Church of our Lady of Lourdes is located at Jalan Tengku
Kelana in Klang, also known as “Little India”.
The
pristine white church, built in 1928, also stands proudly beside Convent Klang,
another popular landmark in the royal town.
Before
the construction of the church, mass services were conducted in a humble wooden
chapel.
However,
in 1923, when Reverend Father John Baptist Souhait was tasked to look after the
Catholics in Klang and its neighbouring districts, he realised the need for a
church building where the congregation could gather.
The
construction work subsequently started in 1925 and was completed three years
later.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Mideast
Salman
Rushdie attack: Suspect showed sympathy to causes of Iran's Revolutionary
Guards
13.08.22
The
24-year-old man detained in connection with the stabbing of Mumbai-born
controversial author Salman Rushdie was sympathetic to "Shia
extremism" and the causes of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,
according to a media report.
Rushdie,
who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic
Verses", was stabbed on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at
the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.
The
New York State Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar from Fairview, New
Jersey while the motive behind the act is still unknown.
The
suspect ran up onto the stage prior to a speaking event at the Chautauqua
Institution in Chautauqua and attacked 75-year-old Rushdie.
According
to the law enforcement authorities, the author was stabbed "at least once in
the neck and at least once in the abdomen.
Rushdie
was rushed to a nearby local hospital where he underwent surgery, while the
attacker was taken into the New York State Police custody. The interviewer with
Rushdie was also attacked during the incident and he suffered a minor head
injury, the police said.
Authorities
were still looking into Matar's nationality and his criminal records, if any.
A
preliminary review of Matar's social media accounts by law enforcement showed
him to be sympathetic to Shia extremism and the causes of the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a law enforcement person with direct
knowledge of the investigation told NBC News.
Though
there are no direct links between Matar and the IRGC, law enforcement officers
reportedly found images of slain commander Qassem Solemani and an Iraqi
extremist sympathetic to the Iranian regime in a cell phone messaging app
belonging to Matar, according to NBC News.
Soleimani
was a senior Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps. From 1998 until his assassination in 2020.
Rushdie's
book The Satanic Verses has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims
consider it offensive to Islam.
The
author spent about 10 years under police protection in the United Kingdom,
living in hiding after Iran's late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a
fatwa calling for Rushdie's execution.
A
bounty of over USD 3 million has been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie, who
has been a prominent spokesman for free expression and liberal causes.
Since
2000, Rushdie has lived in the United States.
Rushdie
was being introduced at about 10:45 am when the assault happened, CNN quoted a
witness as saying
The
witness said he heard shouting from the audience.
He
said a man in a black shirt appeared to be "punching" the author. The
witness, who was 75 feet from the stage, did not hear the attacker say anything
or see a weapon.
Some
people in the audience ran to render aid while others went after the attacker,
the witness said. State police said a doctor who was in the audience during the
event rendered aid to Rushdie until emergency responders arrived.
New
York Gov Kathy Hochul told reporters Friday a state trooper "stood up and
saved (Rushdie's) life and protected him as well as the moderator who was
attacked as well."
One
witness of the attack told CNN there were no security searches or metal
detectors at the event.
The
suspect in Friday's attack had a "pass to access the grounds," Dr
Michael E Hill, president of the Chautauqua Institution, said in the news
conference. Guests can purchase passes to attend programs, Hill said.
Hill
defended the institution's measures, saying, "We assess for every event
what we think the appropriate security level is, and this one was certainly one
that we thought was important which is why we had a State Trooper and Sheriff
presence there," he said.
Staniszewski
said there was no indication of any threat to the event and the state trooper
was there because the event was a mass gathering and because of a request by
the institution.
Joyce
Lussier, 83, who was in the second row of the amphitheater during the attack,
said Rushdie had taken a seat on the right-hand side of the stage when
suddenly, a man who appeared to be in all black "lurched across the stage
and got right to Rushdie."
"They
caught him right away, he did not get off the stage at all," Lussier said
of the suspect. "Shortly after, the crowd was asked to evacuate, "
she added.
Source:
Telegraph India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
conservative media praise Salman Rushdie attacker
13
August, 2022
Iranian
ultra-conservative newspaper Kayhan on Saturday hailed the man who stabbed
British author Salman Rushdie - the target of a 1989 Iranian fatwa calling for
his death.
Rushdie
was on a ventilator after the attack during a literary event in New York state
on Friday, more than 30 years after he went into hiding following late supreme
leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa.
“Bravo
to this courageous and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and
depraved Salman Rushdie in New York,” wrote the paper, whose chief is appointed
by current supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
“Let us kiss the hands of the one who tore the
neck of the enemy of God with a knife,” the daily added.
With
the exception of reformist publication Etemad, Iranian media followed a similar
line, describing Rushdie as an “apostate.”
State-owned
paper Iran said that the “neck of the devil” had been “cut by a razor.”
Iranian
authorities have yet to make any official comment on the stabbing attack
against Rushdie.
But
Mohammad Marandi, an adviser to the negotiating team for Iran’s nuclear talks
in Vienna, wrote on Twitter: “I won’t be shedding tears for a writer who spouts
endless hatred and contempt for Muslims and Islam.”
“But,
isn’t it odd that as we near a potential nuclear deal, the US makes claims
about a hit on Bolton... and then this happens?” he questioned.
The
attack came after Iran hinted earlier on Friday that it may accept a final
compromise to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. This followed the
European Union’s submission of a “final text” in Vienna.
The
US Justice Department said Wednesday that it had indicted a member of Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards over allegations he had offered to pay an individual in
the United States $300,000 to kill former White House national security adviser
John Bolton.
Iran
dismissed the allegations as “fiction.”
Rushdie,
75, was propelled into the spotlight with his second novel “Midnight’s
Children” in 1981, which won international praise and Britain’s prestigious
Booker Prize for its portrayal of post-independence India, where he was born.
But
his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses” transformed his life when Khomeini issued a
religious decree ordering his killing.
In
1998, the government of Iran’s reformist president Mohammad Khatami assured
Britain that Iran would not implement the fatwa.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Israeli
decision to raze West Bank school is 'war' on Palestinian identity, says
premier
Awad
Rajoub
12.08.2022
RAMALLAH,
Palestine
A
recent decision by Israeli authorities to demolish a school in the occupied
West Bank city of Ramallah amounts to "war on Palestinian identity,"
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Thursday.
"We
reject the (Israeli) occupation's decision to demolish the Ein Samia school,
which is a form of war on Palestinian identity," Shtayyeh said at a
ceremony for high school students in Ramallah.
The
decision was "a frantic attempt to annihilate family education," and
"a flagrant violation of the right of Palestinian students to
education," he added.
On
Wednesday, the Israeli District Court in Jerusalem issued a decision to
"immediately demolish" the Ein Samia school, northeast of Ramallah,
according to the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights.
The
human rights center said the school serves students of the Ein Samia al-Badawi
community, totaling about 300 people. It is located in Area C, which is used to
classify parts of the West Bank that are under Israel control.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Leader:
Palestinian Resistance Movement Can Badly Defeat Zionist Enemy
2022-August-12
The
Supreme Leader made the remaks in a Thursday letter addressed to Secretary
General of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad movement Ziyad al-Nakhalah.
He
lauded the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement for its spirited steadfastness
and resilience during the recent three-day-long Israeli military onslaught on
the besieged Gaza Strip.
Ayatollah
Khamenei said that the group proved that any segment of the Resistance front
can rub the Tel Aviv regime’s nose to the ground.
The
text of the letter of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution is as follows:
In
the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
To
my brother who is struggling on the path of God, Mr. Ziyad al-Nakhala (May your
achievements continue) Salam Alaykum,
I
received your honorable, promising letter with its good news. May God reward
you and hurry the ultimate victory of the admirable and oppressed Palestinian
nation. The recent event has added to the honors of the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad Movement and elevated the status of Islamic Jihad in the magnificent
Resistance movement of the Palestinian nation. With your courageous Resistance,
you have nullified the policy of deception of the usurping regime.
You
have proven that each section of the Resistance is able to crush the enemy. By
connecting the fight in Gaza with the West Bank and other forces of the
Resistance with their support for the Jihad movement, you have been able to
demonstrate the solidarity of the Palestinian nation’s jihad to the malicious,
deceptive enemy. All of the efforts of the Palestinian groups in all of the
Palestinian lands should be directed at protecting this solidarity.
The
usurping enemy is becoming weaker, while Palestinian Resistance is becoming
stronger. There is no power or strength except from God. We continue to stand
with you. May God’s greetings be upon you, and our agreements are still in
place…
Seyyed
Ali Khamenei
August
11, 2022
In
his letter, Ziyad al-Nakhalah confirmed the widespread presence of Palestinian
Resistance fighters, particularly from the Islamic Jihad Movement and the
military branch of Saraya al-Quds, in all of Palestine and especially in Gaza
and the West Bank.
"Due
to the presence of the troops of Jihad Resistance, not a single day passes
without clashes taking place with the Zionist regime in the West Bank," he
added.
In
describing the situation that exists in Gaza, the Secretary General of the
Islamic Jihad Movement spoke of the strong Resistance in this region that is
confronting the occupying regime.
Furthermore,
with regards to the three days of clashes, he said, “We have called these
clashes Wahdat al-Sahat (Unity of the Fields) to emphasize the unity that
exists in our nation when they are confronting the enemy, which is working with
all its strength and which schemes to try to abolish this unity.”
While
stressing the fact that during this war all of the occupied Palestinian
territory was within range of Islamic Jihad Movement’s missiles, Ziyad
al-Nakhala said, “This battle frustrated the Zionist regime's estimates to such
a large extent that after just three days they were forced to ask for a
ceasefire and to accept the terms set by the Resistance.”
The
Secretary General of Islamic Jihad said that the enemy's plan is to create a
division in the Resistance forces.
"They
announced their goal was only Islamic Jihad in this war. However, Islamic Jihad
aroused the amazement and support of all the Resistance forces in the region
and the world with its powerful, courageous struggle. The Palestinian nation
and all of the Resistance organizations, including Hamas at the head, have
approved of it and supported it," he added.
The
Secretary General of Islamic Jihad said that this achievement of the Resistance
is a start to even larger victories of the Palestinian nation to come in the
future.
He
appreciated the role played by the Hezbollah movement, which is under the
leadership of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Iran's support and approval
in all its various aspects, which is under the leadership and guidance of the
Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
Spokesman:
US Unable to Whitewash General Soleimani's Assassination by False Stories
2022-August-12
"Fabricating
stories re a politically bankrupt element, a known terrorist & a coup
plotter against independent states, is a US deceptive bid to scape from int'l
responsibilities," the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman tweeted on
Friday.
"Such
fanfares won't whitewash US regime's image, but makes Iranians & the world
more resentful of it, he added.
US
authorities claimed on Wednesday that an Iranian operative was plotting to
assassinate Bolton in retaliation for the US terror operation that martyred
Iran’s anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
In
response, Tehran dismissed Washington's charges as “ridiculous and baseless”.
"The
spinning of these threadbare and baseless myths is becoming a recurring custom
in the American judicial and propaganda system," Iranian Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani said on Wednesday.
"This
time for scenario building, politically bankrupt and worthless elements like
Bolton has been used to advance this process," he added.
"Such
baseless claims are made with political motives and aims and in fact amount to
forward escape, creating propaganda ruse and especially escaping the responsibility
of responding to numerous terrorist crimes that the American government has
either directly participated in, such as the cowardly assassination of General
Martyr Soleimani, or like the terrorist crimes committed by the Zionist regime
and terrorist groups like Daesh they have been committed with the support of
America," the official stated.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
President
Rayeesi: Martyr Soleimani Source of Pride for Iran, Muslim World
2022-August-12
The
Iranian president made the remarks during his tour of Kerman province on
Thursday evening.
"Everyone
must pay attention to Martyr Soleimani's school," President Rayeesi said
while paying tribute to Martyr General Soleimani.
"Kerman
is the cradle of sophisticated men and women, poets, writers, artists, and
prominent scientific figures," he added.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iranian
diplomat says EU proposal to revive nuclear deal could be ‘acceptable’
12
August, 2022
A
European Union proposal to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal “can be acceptable
if it provides assurances” on Tehran’s key demands, the state news agency IRNA
said on Friday, quoting a senior Iranian diplomat.
The
EU said on Monday it had put forward a “final” text following four days of
indirect talks between the US and Iranian officials in Vienna.
A
senior EU official said no more changes could be made to the text, which has
been under negotiation for 15 months. He said he expected a final decision from
the parties within a “very, very few weeks.”
IRNA
quoted the unidentified Iranian diplomat as saying Tehran was reviewing the
proposal. “Proposals by the EU can be acceptable if they provide Iran with
assurance on the issues of safeguards, sanctions and guarantees,” the diplomat
said.
Iran
has sought to obtain guarantees that no future US president would renege on the
deal if it were revived, as then-President Donald Trump did in 2018 and
restored harsh US sanctions on Iran.
However,
President Joe Biden cannot provide such ironclad assurances because the deal is
a political understanding rather than a legally binding treaty.
Washington
has said it is ready to quickly reach an agreement to revive the deal on the
basis of the EU proposals.
Iranian
officials said they would convey their “additional views and considerations” to
the EU, which coordinates the talks, after consultations in Tehran.
The
2015 pact seemed near revival in March. But 11 months of indirect talks between
Tehran and the Biden administration in Vienna were thrown into disarray chiefly
over Iran's insistence that Washington remove its elite Revolutionary Guards
Corps from the US Foreign Terrorist Organizations list.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
plans to commission three more space satellites
12
August, 2022
Iran
plans to commission three more versions of a satellite launched this week by
Russia, Tehran's government spokesman said Friday.
The
Khayyam blasted into orbit on Tuesday, prompting US accusations that it is
intended for spying. Iran dismissed Washington's claim as “childish.”
“The
construction of three other Khayyam satellites with the participation of
Iranian scientists is on the government's agenda,” its spokesman Ali
Bahadori-Jahromi said on Twitter.
A
Soyuz-2.1b rocket sent the satellite into orbit from the Moscow-controlled
Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Responding
to the launch, Washington said Russia's growing cooperation with Iran should be
viewed as a “profound threat”, but the head of Iran's Space Agency, Hassan
Salarieh, dismissed the accusation.
He
said the Khayyam is designed to meet Iran's needs for “crisis and urban
management, natural resources, mines, agriculture and so on.”
The
Khayyam was built by the Russians under Iran's supervision, Salarieh said at a
press conference on Wednesday.
Ahead
of the launch, The Washington Post quoted anonymous Western intelligence
officials as saying that Russia “plans to use the satellite for several months
or longer” to assist its war effort before allowing Iran to take control.
Iran's
space agency stressed on Sunday that it would control the satellite “from day
one”, in an apparent reaction to the Post's report.
Khayyam,
apparently named after the 11th-century Persian polymath Omar Khayyam, will not
be the first Iranian satellite that Russia has put into space.
In
2005, Iran's Sina-1 satellite was deployed from Russia's Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
The
new satellite launch came a day after the European Union submitted a “final
text” at talks to salvage a 2015 deal aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear
ambitions, and which Tehran said it was reviewing.
The
United States has accused Iran of effectively supporting Russia's war against
Ukraine while adopting a “veil of neutrality”.
Iran
insists its space programme is for civilian and defence purposes only, and does
not breach the 2015 nuclear deal, or any other international agreement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
ambassador supports Israeli air raids on Gaza Strip, terms resistance fighters
as ‘bad guys’
13
August 2022
US
ambassador to Israel Tom Nides says Washington fully backed the Tel Aviv regime
in its last week's military onslaught against the besieged Gaza Strip, which
killed 49 Palestinians, including at least 17 children, describing resistance
fighters in the coastal enclave as “bad guys”.
Speaking
in an interview with the Israeli Hebrew-language Channel 13 television channel,
Nides said the Joe Biden administration is “aware of the situation going on in
Gaza” and believes that the latest Israeli operations there were part of “an
important mission.”
“These
are bad guys,” the US ambassador said of members of the Gaza-based Palestinian
resistance movements.
“We
support Israel’s right to defend itself, its right to basically take the
actions it needs to keep this place safe, so we’re fully supportive of Israel’s
actions,” he told Channel 13.
Nides
said the White House had not been informed of Israeli airstrikes against the
Gaza Strip ahead of time, but said, “I don’t think we were surprised.”
“I
don’t think we were told in advance but I think we were aware as the actions
were taking place,” he said. “We were pretty clear that we support Israel’s
security.”
Last
Friday, the Israeli regime carried out massacre in Gaza, killing 49 people,
including Taysir al-Jabari, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
resistance movement.
The
Israeli airstrikes prompted the al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad’s military
wing, to respond by firing hundreds of retaliatory rockets toward the occupied
territories, pushing the regime forces on the back foot.
The
strong retaliation, as was pledged by the resistance group, forced Tel Aviv to
demand a ceasefire in order to prevent maximum damage. The Egyptian-mediated
truce took effect late on Sunday.
On
Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights raised the
alarm over the rate by which the Israeli regime has been killing Palestinian
children so far this year.
“Inflicting
hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing, and the
killing and maiming of so many children this year is unconscionable,” Michelle
Bachelet said.
So
far this year, 37 Palestinian children have been killed at the hands of the
Israeli forces. The figure includes 17 children, who perished as a result of
the Israeli regime’s recent back-to-back airstrikes against alleged positions
belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement of the Islamic Jihad in the
Gaza Strip.
“International
humanitarian law is clear,” the UN official said. “Launching an attack which
may be expected to incidentally kill or injure civilians, or damage civilian
objects, in disproportionate manner to the concrete and direct military
advantage anticipated, is prohibited. Such attacks must stop.”
Source:
Press TV
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf Hires US Lobbying Firm To Establish 'Good Relations' With
Washington
Aug
12, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has engaged a Washington-based lobbying
firm to support the party's goal of developing good ties with the US and the
Pakistani diaspora in the country, according to local media reports on Friday.
The
development comes as the party has reportedly embarked on mending ties with the
US President Joe Biden-led administration. The PTI had accused the US of
overthrowing the Imran Khan-led government through a conspiracy earlier this
year.
The
PTI USA, which is based in New York, is the principal client of the lobbying
firm Fenton/Arlook. The firm has been hired for a period of six months at the
cost of $25,000 per month to manage PTI USA's public and media relations, said
a report in The News.
The
agreement was signed on August 1 between David Fenton of Fenton/Arlook and
Salman Ravala, the attorney for PTI USA.
The
agreement further states that PTI USA is not supervised, owned or controlled by
any foreign political party but will "in certain instances" be
"directed by the foreign political party in Pakistan".
"Fenton/Arlook
shall provide public relations services, including but not limited to
distributing information to and briefing journalists, placing articles and
broadcasts, arranging interviews with representatives or supporters of PTI,
advising on social media efforts and other such public relations
services," the agreement signed between PTI and the PR firm stated.
Reportedly,
the Pakistan Embassy in Washington also hired the services of the same firm.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Federal
Minister Ahsan Iqbal Underlines Need To Spread True Image Of Islam Via Good
Governance
Fahad
Shabbir
August
12, 2022
ISLAMABAD,
(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Aug, 2022 ) :Federal Minister for
Planning Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has underlined the
need to spread the true image of islam through good governance, protection of
human rights and ensuring equality and development for all.
The
Minister made these remarks while meeting with Prof Dr. Ali Erbas, President of
T�rkiye's Presidency of
Religious in Ankara, according to a statement received here on Friday.
He
also sought a closer cooperation between Pakistan and T�rkiye's in experience sharing and
mutual learning on administration of religious affairs.
It
is noted that the federal minister for Planning Development & Special
Initiatives is on an official visit to T�rkiye where he held meetings with
several foreign officials.
During
the meeting, both have agreed to partner and strengthen the capacities of religious
institutions to fight exploitation of religion to destabilize the societies.
"There
is a dire need of hour to work together to spread the true picture of Islam and
to counter the hatred from the societies," said Professor Ahsan Ibqal.
Source:
Urdu Point
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/ahsan-iqbal-underlines-need-to-spread-true-im-1546322.html
--------
Decision
to not arrest ex-BJP spokesperson shows India’s hatred towards Islam: Bilawal
Bhutto
13th
August 2022
Islamabad:
Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday condemned India’s
Supreme Court’s decision to provide former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
spokesperson Nupur Sharma protection from getting arrested in the Prophet
Muhammad case, the media reported.
The
Pakistan Foreign Minister said that this decision of not arresting the former
BJP spokesperson shows that India not only has hatred towards Pakistan but also
towards Islam, Geo News reported.
He
added that the BJP promotes hatred and extremism toward the Muslims living in
India.
“We
have minimal influence on India’s Supreme Court, however, we need to raise this
issue at the international level including the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness and we have
raised this issue,” he added.
Bilawal
said that the people are now seeing India’s real face through these actions,
Geo News reported.
The
Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred all the FIRs lodged against suspended
BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet
Muhammad to Delhi Police.
The
top court gave her the liberty to approach the Delhi High Court for quashing of
the FIRs, and also declined to entertain a plea moved by the West Bengal
government for a court-monitored SIT probe.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Protests
intensify in PoK against Pakistan government’s plans to amend Constitution
13
August, 2022
Muzaffarabad
[PoK], August 13 (ANI): Districts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are
witnessing massive protests against the Pakistan government’s plan to bring in
the 15th Constitutional Amendment that will transfer the financial and
administrative powers of the local government to Islamabad, local media
reported.
The
citizens of all 10 districts of the region are infuriated at the government’s
move. These protests have taken a turn for the worse in Rawalakot, Bagh,
Poonch, Muzaffarabad, and Neelum Valley among other areas of PoK.
Recently,
Shabir Choudhry, an activist from the region had said that with this move to
introduce the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, Pakistan is eyeing to control
the region’s natural resources and urged the people to raise their voice
against this “naked aggression and imperialism” where all is controlled by the
Pakistani army and country’s property tycoons.
“Pakistan
wants to conclude its imperialist and strategic game plan which it started in
October 1947. This imperialist agenda began in name of Islam, and the captured
prey shall be slaughtered with the ‘Islamic touch’,” Choudhry said.
He
said that Pakistan is using Islam to camouflage its imperialist agenda. Since
October 22, 1947, the activist noted that people of PoK are living in the false
sense of being independent or liberated.
“Right
from childhood, our children through social, educational, economic, and
cultural mechanisms are brainwashed or educated on how to be a good slave of
Pakistan,” he said while slamming Pakistan for manipulating the people of the
PoK region. “
According
to a local media report, details revealed in the proposed draft of the 15th
amendment show that the terms ‘State’ will be replaced with ‘Azad Jammu
Kashmir’ and the mention of United Nations’ is going to be replaced with the
words ‘subject to recognition’ from the so-called 1974 interim constitution of
PoJK.
Kashmir
Council will be revived which will include six members from the PoJK
legislative assembly and seven from Pakistan. It will include the Prime
Minister, Defense and Foreign ministers of Pakistan and, will be headed by the
Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The
Kashmir Council will have the power to collect taxes and present its own
budget. Property worth Rs 80 billion in Pakistan which belongs to PoJK will be
brought under the Kashmir Property Council and PoJK will have no powers over
its sale or to preserve it.
The
Prime Minister of Pakistan will have the right to directly appoint the Chief
Justice, High and Supreme Court judges as well as the Chief Election
Commissioner of PoK, and appointments made by the PM would not be allowed to be
challenged in the courts.
All
financial powers will be transferred from the government of PoJK to Pakistan
thus practically degrading PoJK to the level of a provincial entity.
Last
week, the United Kashmir People’s National Party (UKPNP) rejected the same
saying that instead of fighting for the interests of the ruling elite in the
guise of identity and chauvinism, the real salvation of the oppressed people in
the region lies in the establishment of a society free of exploitation.
The
constitutional status of the region is intended to be fixed once again. Despite
several changes, the constitutional status of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and the
distribution of powers between the local government could not be satisfied by
the different governments and the state of Pakistan.
This
will be the 24th attempt of the Pakistan government to determine the
constitutional status of the region, in the last 75 years.
A
letter by a high-level committee headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan
stated that through this amendment, the ongoing functions of the PoK government
are to be aligned with the provincial governments of Pakistan. This means that
PoK will be treated as federating units (ie other units of the Federation).
Harjap
Singh writing for Daily Sikh said that since July 1, women and children have
been sitting on roads for several days in the region shouting freedom slogans
and demanding the Army return to the barracks.
Citizens
have known the agony of living under the thumb of the Pakistani government
before the introduction of the 13th amendment. They have been denied dignity in
living.
“Many
people have been arrested, but their crimes remain unknown. Is it unlawful to
ask for basic facilities such as clean drinking water, social opportunities,
educational institutions, and healthcare? Underdevelopment and
disenfranchisement have taken people to the streets!”
He
said that the area of Poonch is experiencing a curfew-like situation and a
partial shutdown of internet service in some areas. Roads are closed for all
types of vehicles owing to the burning of tyres and Pakistan’s mainstream media
is forbidden to cover these scenes.
Protests
in the Khaigala area of Poonch were quietened through the use of force and
indiscriminate open firing. The injured protesters were denied medical
attention while a few unfortunates died on spot. Authorities did not disclose
the death toll, Harjap wrote.
The
Pakistan government, in June 2018, introduced the 13th Amendment that gave PoK
the right to control the financial and administrative issues including making
laws and collecting tax, excluding corporate tax.
However,
the power to elect the superior court judges, chief election Commissioner and
emergency provisions remained in the hands of the Prime Minister of the
country.
“Pakistan
government used to receive Rs 500-600 crores in taxes every year from PoJK
before the 13th amendment. After the amendment was implemented, these funds
directly went to the PoJK government. Of course, the federal government could
not resist curbing PoJK’s powers as an independent entity and missing out on
the crores of rupees annually,” Harjap said adding that the 15th Amendment Bill
will usurp the monetary powers from the PoJK government and subsequently turn
the PoJK administration into a provincial entity. This is a breach of trust and
a clear violation of the rights of the illegally occupied territory.
Not
just this, the people of Pakistan have been protesting against the load
shedding, increasingly cruel imposition of taxes on electricity bills,
imposition of heavy cuts in the budgetary grants of PoK, as well as the locals
being ignored for jobs in the area.
Harjap
said that major protests have been going on since the night of July 25 when the
police started baton-charging and shelling tear gas at the protesters in
Poonch, Rawalkot, and Thorar. Political leaders and activists have been
detained and taken to undisclosed locations. Baseless cases are registered
against them on charges of blocking highways.
Even
though the government has convinced the protestors that the arrested persons
would be released soon, the basic issues like load shedding, inflation, and the
lease of lands need to be addressed on a war footing.
As
per the report of the Planning and Development Department of PoJK, fifty per
cent of the total population of the region has no access to piped water; 78 per
cent of the total households have no tap water connections.
Meanwhile,
the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a ticking bomb for PoJK, which can
swipe all lives in the area. It is because of unlawful occupation of forest
cover which has reduced to 14 per cent from 42 per cent.
The
electricity produced in PoK relieves the heat in Punjab, while people of the
region face load shedding for 18 to 20 hours. The river waters are diverted for
hydropower projects built by Chinese companies. And these companies make all
the profits which even the Pak federal government has opposed.
For
three years in a row, there has been a severe shortage of wheat and a rise in
inflation. Ex-servicemen have not seen a single paisa in the name of pension,
and government employees have not received salaries during the year.
All
those who oppose the government in PoK are labelled as traitors or agents and
then put through a series of torture, humiliation, or jail, Harjap wrote.
Among
these, the protests against the 15th Amendment and oppressive taxes are
spreading like wildfire across the state.
This
amendment is a conspiracy to dilute the identity of PoK.
Source:
The Print
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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COAS
Bajwa hails deep-rooted ties between Pakistan, UK
12th
Aug, 2022
LONDON:
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday recognized
the deep-rooted ties between Pakistan and the United Kingdom and expressed hope
that relations between the two countries would reach “historic heights” in the
future.
Addressing
the passing out parade at the renowned Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, as
the first Pakistani chief guest, COAS Gen Bajwa said the primary reason for
armed forces to exist today, should not be to wage wars. but ensure that they
do not take place.
Gen
Bajwa began his address by saying that it was a “great honour and privilege”
for him to be present during the ceremony. He congratulated the cadets and
their families on successfully completing their training at the prestigious
academy.
“Your
alma matter is, without a doubt, one of the finest military institutions in the
world which have produced some of the great military leaders that this world
has seen,” he said, adding that graduating from Sandhurst is a great honour and
pride.
“Two
Pakistani cadets will also be graduating with you today and let me say that I
am as proud of you as I am of them,” he told the graduating officers and
congratulated them and their families.
Gen
Bajwa said that his presence at the academy today was a testimony f the
relationship shared by Pakistan and UK “based on mutual respect and shared
values”.
“I
am sure that this relationship will stay in greater heights in times to come,”
he added. “Similarly, the bond between the two armed forces is uniquely special
and has been kept alive over the years through close professional contact in
training and other military activities.”
While
addressing the passing out cadets, the army chief highlighted that this day
marks the beginning of their formal military service and there would be great
responsibilities and expectations associated with them.
“The
journey ahead of you is both challenging and exciting. As you grow, you the
demand of professionalism will also increase,” he said, pointing out that no
one was born with professional knowledge rather “it has to be acquired with
constant pursue”.
“Without
it, you cannot achieve professional confidence which is the hallmark of
successful military leadership,” Gen Bajwa stated. “You need to have the will
to take decisions and accept full responsibility. That will require confidence
and competence.”
He
also said that the primary responsibility of the armed forces today was not to
win wars but to ensure that they don’t occur. “It is on our collective capacity
to come together and take the route of peace and cooperation instead of
conflict, communication instead of clash and multilateralism instead of
self-preservation.
“In
the interest of world peace, we must strive to preserve the vitality, relevance
and internal sense of impartiality in multilateral institutions, maintain
consensus on the collective defence of global commons and uphold the prestige
of international law,” he stressed.
Source:
Bol News
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.bolnews.com/pakistan/2022/08/coas-bajwa-hails-deep-rooted-ties-between-pakistan-uk/
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Arshad
Nadeem extends golden run to Islamic Solidarity Games
August
13, 2022
KONYA:
Another Games for Arshad Nadeem, another record-breaking gold for the Pakistan
javelin thrower.
Six
days after his victory at the Commonwealth Games, Arshad was at it again on
Friday at the Islamic Solidarity Games when the 25-year-old sent the spear to
88.55 metres for the best throw ever at the multi-sport event involving elite
athletes from members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Arshad
though was head and shoulders above the rest in Turkey. Qatar’s Ahmed Magour,
who held the previous record at the Games at 83.45 metres, was the silver
medallist with a throw of 74.28 metres while Iran’s Ali Fathi Ganji took bronze
with a throw of 71.24 metres.
Arshad,
however, has achieved these feats despite an elbow injury that has troubled him
since the Olympics in Tokyo last year where he finished fifth.
Arshad’s
best attempt came in his second throw after he opened on 79.40 metres. His
third throw reached a distance of 75.50m and his fourth and fifth throw were
82.40m and 83.33m respectively.
The
ongoing fifth edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games were initially scheduled
to be held last year but were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On
Sunday, Arshad had stormed to gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with
a record throw of 90.18 metres. In doing so, he became only the second Asian
ever to cross the 90m mark in the sport.
In
July, he had also finished fifth at the World Athletics Championships in
Oregon.
With
the Asian Games in China postponed to next year, Arshad will now undergo
treatment on his longstanding elbow issue in London in consultation with
Cambridge University’s Dr Ali Sher Bajwa.
He
is expected to go under the knife next month before starting his comeback in
May next year ahead of the Asian Games.
Source:
Dawn
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1704606/arshad-nadeem-extends-golden-run-to-islamic-solidarity-games
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Militants
present in Swat, but situation under control: police
Manzoor
Ali
August
13, 2022
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police on Friday acknowledged the presence of militants
in some remote mountainous areas of Swat district.
A
brief statement issued by the Central Police Office said the police were fully
cognisant of the fact that some individuals from Swat, previously living in Afghanistan,
were present in some far-flung mountainous areas of Swat.
However,
police said, the situation was “totally under the control of civil
administration” and all law enforcement agencies were ready to respond to any
misadventure.
The
statement came after the provincial government’s days-long silence on a clash
between the police and the Taliban in a remote area of Matta tehsil, the
hometown of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan. A DSP and some security personnel were
reportedly detained by suspected militants after the clash. They were later
released after intervention of a jirga.
Police
said they were cognisant of video clips circulating on social media showing
heavy presence of militants in Swat.
They
said the department was also aware of public apprehension that Swat may return
to the 2008-09-like era when militants ruled the valley with their version of
Sharia.
“Peaceful
society of Swat has no space for terrorism in any form and manifestation,” the
police said.
The
statement added that law enforcement agencies were “appropriately placed to
resort to all possible measures to ensure peace in Swat as per aspirations of
the local populace”.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1704554/militants-present-in-swat-but-situation-under-control-police
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Religious
affairs minister threatens polio vaccine boycott in ex-Fata areas
Waseem
Ahmed Shah
August
13, 2022
PESHAWAR:
Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Maulana Abdul Shakoor has warned that
people of the erstwhile tribal areas would boycott a polio vaccination campaign
if the government and security institutions failed to restore peace.
“We
want to make it clear that if the government and security institutions fail to
provide us with peace, the people of [formerly] Fata won’t accept the measures
being taken by the government, on top of which is polio vaccination,” he said
in a widely circulated video on social media.
He
said the boycott might be followed by civil disobedience campaign “like the one
started by (PTI chief) Imran Khan”.
He
said the JUI-F did not favour such protest measures, but people were being compelled
to head towards such a situation. He urged the security institutions and the
government to restore peace in those areas before things got out of control.
While
it could not be confirmed who had filmed the video, the JUI-F’s provincial
information secretary Abdul Jalil Jan confirmed to Dawn that Maulana Shakoor
was addressing a delegation of party leaders and workers from former tribal
areas in Peshawar.
He
said it was an internal meeting of the party where the media was not invited,
but someone might have uploaded the video on social media.
In
the video, the minister also spoke about the recent killing of a JUI-F leader
Qari Samiuddin in North Waziristan and last year’s killing of another leader,
Maulana Abdul Salam in Bajaur, and asked the participants to stage protests and
highlight the killings.
He
also asked them to condemn the provincial government and the security
institutions “as they have completely failed in maintaining peace”.
The
video footage has since drawn criticism on social media.
“Sitting
federal minister Mufti Shakoor of JUI-F announces boycott of polio
vaccination,” activist Gul Bukhari wrote on Twitter and wondered if such people
could remain in the cabinet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1704587/minister-threatens-polio-vaccine-boycott-in-ex-fata-areas
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US
announces $1mln grant for Pakistan to address natural disasters
August
12, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The United States government on Friday has announced a new $1 million grant in
support of Pakistan’s ability to address natural disasters, such as the ongoing
flooding.
Funded
by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this humanitarian
assistance will build the resilience of agricultural communities and would
support Pakistan’s disaster management authorities in Sindh, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces to better respond to future
disasters, said a news release.
The
U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome said: “The people of America stand with the people
of Pakistan during this challenging time. Our hearts are with the families who
lost loved ones in the floods across Pakistan and who are also dealing with
recovery efforts. We are proud to help
build the resilience of Sindh communities so they are better able to face such
disasters in the future. We remain committed to helping Pakistan recover and
rebuild as quickly as possible.”
Acknowledging
the continuing U.S.-Pakistan partnership, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah
said, “The American people have always stood with the people of Pakistan during
the challenging times in the past, and now, when torrential rains have wreaked
havoc in several parts of Sindh province.
The people of Sindh, and in particular the people of Pakistan, are
highly grateful for the United States Government’s announcement of this $1 million
grant to bolster Pakistan’s ability to address natural disasters.”
Source:
Pakistan Today
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--------
Pak
navy rescues 9 Indian crew members after vessel capsizes in Arabian Sea
Aug
12, 2022
KARACHI:
The Pakistani navy on Thursday said that it rescued and saved nine Indian crew
members from drowning after their vessel capsized in the Arabian Sea.
The
incident happened on August 9 near the coastal town of Gwadar in Balochistan
province when the Indian sailing vessel 'Jamna Sagar' sank with 10 crew members
onboard, Pakistan navy's director general of Public Relations said in a
statement.
The
navy received information about the vessel, responded to the distress call and
the Pakistan Maritime Information Centre requested a nearby merchant ship 'MT
KRUIBEKE' to provide necessary assistance to the stranded crew of the Indian
vessel.
“The
merchant ship eventually recovered nine crew members and continued the voyage
to its next port Dubai and onward disembarked the crew,” the statement said.
Simultaneously
one Pakistan navy ship, along with two helicopters, also reached the area and
located the dead body of one crew member who was earlier missing at the time of
the sinking of the vessel.
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
Arab World
More
than 600 linked to ISIS transferred from Syria to Iraq
12
August, 2022
Syria’s
autonomous Kurdish region transferred to the Iraqi government more than 600
relatives of ISIS members who were detained at the notorious al-Hol camp, a
monitor said Friday.
It
is the fourth operation of its kind this year from the camp, which lies less
than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the Iraqi border.
In
the latest transfer, around “620 people, relatives of ISIS members, left
al-Hol,” coordinated between the camp administration and the Iraqi government,
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement.
The
men, women and children belonged to 150 families and left the camp on Thursday,
an official in the Kurdish administration told AFP.
Thousands
of foreign extremists joined ISIS as fighters, often bringing their wives and
children to live in the “caliphate” declared by the group across swaths of Iraq
and Syria in 2014.
Kurdish-led
forces backed by a US-led coalition dislodged the extremists from their last
scrap of territory in Syria in 2019.
Kurdish
authorities have repeatedly called on countries to repatriate their citizens
from crowded displaced camps, of which al-Hol is Syria’s largest.
More
than 100 people, including many women, were murdered in al-Hol over an 18-month
period, the United Nations said in June, calling for camp residents to be
returned home.
But
nations have mostly received them only sporadically, fearing security threats
and a domestic political backlash.
The
first repatriation of Iraqi families from al-Hol, involving around 300 people,
took place in May last year.
Iraq
should repatriate 500 families in total from al-Hol this year, the official
Iraqi News Agency announced on Wednesday.
In
addition to the returned family members, the Iraqi government also received
this week about 50 Iraqi ISIS fighters and leaders who were detained by the
Syrian Democratic Forces, according to the Observatory.
The
SDF spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria with the support of the US-led
coalition.
In
early June, Iraq repatriated another 50 Iraqi ISIS fighters who were detained
by Kurdish forces. They were among 3,500 Iraqis held in Syrian Kurdish prisons,
a senior military official said at the time.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Wanted
fugitive blows himself up in Saudi Arabia injuring four people
12
August, 2022
A
man wanted by Saudi Arabia’s state security detonated an explosive belt killing
himself and injuring four others in Jeddah on Wednesday night, the official
Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Friday.
The
fugitive blew himself up after security forces tracked him and attempted to
arrest him in Jeddah’s neighborhood of al-Samer, a spokesperson for the
Presidency of State Security said.
According
to state security, those injured were a Pakistani resident and three security
personnel. They were all transferred to hospital for medical treatment.
Al-Shehri
has been wanted by authorities for seven years for his involvement in an attack
that targeted a mosque in the southern city of Abha in August 2015.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Iraq’s
Sadr supporters perform Friday prayers outside Parliament as political crisis
lingers
12
August 2022
Supporters
of Iraq’s Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr gathered outside Parliament in Baghdad’s
Green Zone for Friday prayers, weeks after occupying the building amid a
post-election political crisis.
The
mass prayer came a few days after Sadr called on the judiciary to dissolve
Parliament by the end of next week.
Sadr
warned on Wednesday that the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq must heed his call.
He said his supporters would continue their sit-in, warning that the protesters
would “adopt a different position” if the court failed to dissolve the
legislative body.
The
judiciary "must dissolve parliament by the end of next week... if not, the
revolutionaries will take another stance," Sadr said in a statement on his
Twitter account, without elaborating.
Iraq
has been grappling with a political crisis in the absence of a functional
government since October 2021, when legislative elections were held.
Sadr’s
political bloc emerged as the biggest parliamentary faction but fell short of
an absolute majority required to form a government. That prompted the current
deadlock.
In
June, all the 73 legislators of the bloc quit their seats in a move seen as an
attempt to pressure political rivals into expediting the formation of a
government. Over the past two weeks, thousands of Sadr’s followers, camped at
Parliament, have been preventing the formation of a government. The rival
parliamentary faction, known as the Coordination Framework, has attempted to
shape up a government led by Muhammad Shia Sudani, a figure close to former
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
According
to reports, opposition groups are also set to hold counter-protests later on
Friday.
The
outgoing Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi called for a "national
dialogue" last week in a bid to bring all sides together to reconcile. In
a meeting with President Barham Saleh, the importance of "guaranteeing
security and stability" was underscored.
The
United Nations has called on various political factions in Iraq to set aside
differences and look for "urgent solutions" to the protracted political
crisis.
"We
appeal to all actors to commit, actively engage, and agree on solutions without
delay," the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a
statement on August 3. "Leaders must prioritize [the] national
interest."
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Pro-Iran
Coordination Framework begin rival Baghdad sit-in
12
August, 2022
Supporters
of Iraq’s pro-Iran Coordination Framework began their own Baghdad sit-in Friday
in riposte to a sit-in outside parliament by the rival Sadrist movement
launched two weeks ago.
In
a statement read out to thousands of supporters gathered on one of the main
access roads to the capital’s Green Zone government and diplomatic compound,
the Framework said it would hold an “indefinite sit-in” to push for the swift
formation of a new government to end months of deadlock between the rival
blocs.
An
AFP correspondent saw protesters begin assembling large metal tent frames in
readiness to camp out.
Loyalists
of Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shia cleric who once led a group against US and Iraqi
government forces, have been demanding fresh elections after the Coordination
Framework named a candidate for the premiership, a post they believe should be
theirs.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Rivals
rally in Iraq amid political standoff
12
August, 2022
Supporters
of Iraq’s Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gathered for Friday prayers ahead of a
counter-rally by their opponents later in the day.
The
opposing demonstrations are the latest turn in a political standoff which has
so far remained peaceful in the war-scarred country.
Thousands
of supporters of al-Sadr, who once led a militia against American and Iraqi
government forces, gathered for the traditional weekly prayers near parliament
inside the normally secure Green Zone.
A
week earlier, al-Sadr had called out tens of thousands of his followers for
prayers in the area, home to government and diplomatic buildings.
For
nearly two weeks, his supporters have held a sit-in, first inside the
legislature, and more recently on its grounds.
Their
protest, triggered by a rival bloc’s pick for prime minister, reflects months
of failed negotiations by Iran’s political forces to form a government after
October elections.
Outside
parliament Umm Hussein, a supporter of al-Sadr in her 50s, said she was there
to protest “the regime that for 20 years has done nothing for the people,
except plunder and steal public money.”
On
Wednesday, al-Sadr demanded the judiciary dissolve parliament by the end of
next week, as part of his call for new elections.
His
rivals in the pro-Iran Coordination Framework plan to demonstrate at around
5:00 pm (14:00 GMT) on a road leading toward the normally secure Green Zone
where parliament is located.
A
statement from the alliance said it will demonstrate for the “formation of a
new government” that would provide public services and solutions to power
outages and water shortages.
The
Framework had initially said they were conditionally open to new elections.
Two
days after al-Sadr supporters stormed the Green Zone and entered parliament on
July 30, thousands of Coordination Framework backers held a counter-protest on
a road leading to the Green Zone.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Suicide
bomber injures 4 people in Saudi Arabia
Mustafa
M. M. Haboush
12.08.2022
Four
people were injured when a wanted man blew himself up on Wednesday as
authorities attempted to arrest him in Saudi Arabia’s western city of Jeddah,
security authorities said on Friday.
"One
of the wanted men (Abdullah Al-Bakri) was tracked on Wednesday evening, and
upon initiating the arrest procedures, he took the initiative to blow up
himself with an explosive belt," the kingdom’s Presidency of State
Security said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/suicide-bomber-injures-4-people-in-saudi-arabia/2659951
--------
Africa
Tunisia’s
military clashes with ‘terrorists’, two soldiers injured: Statement
12
August, 2022
Two
Tunisian soldiers were wounded on Friday in an exchange of fire with suspected
terrorists during a military operation in a mountainous region of the south,
the defense ministry said.
The
shootout happened at Mount Salloum near the town of Kasserine close to the
border with Algeria, where extremists operate, local media reported.
“There
was an exchange of fire between soldiers and a group of terrorists in the
Kasserine area,” defense ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri told AFP.
“There
were wounded among the terrorists who fled,” he said, adding that two soldiers
were slightly wounded.
The
most recent similar clash was in March when suspected extremists opened fire on
a national guard barracks in the city of Kairouan, some 150 kilometers (90
miles) east of Kasserine.
In
March 2016, an assault on security positions in Ben Guerdane near the border
with Libya killed 13 members of the security forces and seven civilians.
At
least 55 terrorists were also killed and dozens arrested.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Sudanese-Libyan
patrol finds 20 bodies, rescues 8 surviving irregular immigrants
Adel
Abdel-Rahim
12.08.2022
KHARTOUM,
Sudan
A
joint Sudanese-Libyan patrol found 20 bodies and rescued eight surviving
irregular immigrants in the desert between the two countries, said an official
statement issued on Friday.
According
to the Sudanese-Libyan Joint Forces statement, which was cited by the Sudanese
official news agency, the bodies were found on the borders of the North Darfur
region and Libya. The irregular migrants were traveling to Libya in two
vehicles, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) added.
It
did not specify the nationalities of the deceased, but it did confirm that the
eight people are from Sudan and are receiving medical treatment.
Meanwhile,
Col. Ali Said, commander of the Sudanese-Libyan Joint Forces, told SUNA that
the joint force is securing the borders between Sudan and Libya and confronting
irregular migration and smuggling on the borders.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
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