BJP Leader Shadab Shams Calls Haridwar Muslim Shrine, Piran Kaliyara, ‘Den Of Prostitution, Human Trafficking, and Drugs’, Provokes Outrage
New Age Islam News Bureau
14 September 2022
Shadab Shams (right) with
BJP state unit chief Mahendra Bhatt. (HT PHOTO)
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• Court to Hear Suit Seeking Ban on Muslims in
Gyanvapi, Handing the Complex to Hindus and Permitting Daily Worship of Lord
Aadi Visheshwar
• To Exit FATF Grey List, Pakistan Asks Taliban To
Hunt For Jem Chief Masood Azhar In Afghanistan
• Abraham Accords: Experts Hail Two Years of Growing
Ties between UAE, Israel, Bahrain
• Citizenship-Stripping Has Made British Muslims
‘Second Class Citizens’: Institute Of Race Relations
India
• Hindus Need Gyanvapi: How Holy Varanasi Temples Were
Desecrated By Muslims In The Name Of the Mosque
• “Muslims welcome at Garbas, if Quran permits them to
pursue idol worship,” says MP Usha Thakur
• ‘Madrasas targeted by sectarian forces’, Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind objects to UP govt’s survey
• Caste in Islam, Christianity: Why SC Is Pushing
Centre To Decide On Reservations For Dalit Muslims, Christians
--------
South
Asia
• Restrictions Will Cause Distance Between Kabul,
World: Islamic Emirate
• Islamic Emirate Yet to Be Invited to SCO Meeting in
Uzbekistan
• Taliban Says 40 Rebel Force Members Killed in
Northern Panjshir
--------
Arab
World
• Iraq: Sadr calls for armed militias not to be
included in security during Shia pilgrimage
• Syrian govt. troops block US military convoy in
Hasakah, force it to turn back
• President of Kazakhstan, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
review cooperation in promoting true image of Islam
• Pro-Iran faction in Iraq sticks to its pick for
premier
• Syrians have right to return home but conditions not
yet met: EU
• A visit to the Barking Lot in Al-Khobar, Saudi
Arabia’s first cafe dedicated to dogs
--------
Europe
• God Does Not Back War, Pope Tells Religious
Conference
• Taliban Failed to Uphold any Promises Made: EU
Special Envoy at UNHRC
• Taliban reject UN report, say no women fired from
government jobs
• CENTCOM urges nations to bring Daesh relatives home
from Syria
• Western Powers Seek Unity Against Iran At IAEA But
No Resolution: Sources
--------
Southeast
Asia
• China Promoting Taliban 2.0 for Better Business
Deals in Afghanistan
• Zahid raised racial issues, damaged my reputation,
says Dr M
• China’s Xi vows to ‘defend common security’ with
Kazakhstan
--------
Mideast
• Hamas Says ‘Comprehensive Resistance’ Sole Way To
Realize Palestinian Rights, Urges PA To Scrap Oslo Accords
• Iranian President: Israeli Presence in Region Threat
to All Nations
• Families of Iranian Terror Victims Protest at
Albania for Sheltering Terrorists
• Iran Thanks Tunisia for Opposing Israeli Regime's
Observer Status in African Union
• Two Palestinian gunmen and Israeli army officer
killed in West Bank clash
• Iran schools call for Israel’s ‘eradication,’
consider US ‘satanic enemy’: Study
--------
North
America
• 93 Years Added To Life Sentence for 2014
‘Jihad-Inspired’ Murders Including Two Gay Men Killer Met On Capitol Hill
• US says it expects Pakistan to take ‘sustained
action’ against all terrorist groups
• UN chief calls for de-escalation between Azerbaijan
and Armenia amid renewed fighting
• New book reveals Trump’s fear of Iran’s revenge for
Gen. Soleimani assassination
--------
Pakistan
• Police Produce ‘Missing’ Person before IHC; Hearing
Under Way
• No plans for Shehbaz-Modi meeting on sidelines of
SCO summit
• Imran grilled for ‘U-turn’ on army chief appointment
• PTI moves SC against ‘phase wise’ acceptance of
resignations
• Three soldiers martyred in exchange of fire with
terrorists across Pak-Afghan border: ISPR
• Hindu temple opens door to 200 Muslim flood victims
in Balochistan
--------
Africa
• No Going Back On Rejection of Muslim-Muslim Ticket –
Northern Christians
• Twin airstrikes kill 10 people in Ethiopia’s Tigray
region: Hospital official
• More than half a million children face malnutrition
in Somalia: UN agency
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
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BJP Leader Shadab Shams Calls Haridwar Muslim Shrine,
Piran Kaliyara, ‘Den Of Prostitution, Human Trafficking, and Drugs’, Provokes
Outrage
Shadab Shams (right) with
BJP state unit chief Mahendra Bhatt. (HT PHOTO)
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Sep 13, 2022
Ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shadab Shams
has called Haridwar’s revered Muslim shrine Piran Kaliyara a “den of
prostitution, human trafficking, and drugs” and promised to “cleanse” it of
“wrong people” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India campaign with a
broom and bulldozer, provoking outrage.
“Piran Kaliyar is an international centre for
pilgrims, where people come to seek blessings irrespective of religion and
caste. People who do not have children go and beg there after doctors and medical
science fail. We have seen miracles happening when people are blessed with
children. It is unfortunate that such a sacred place has been tainted,” he said
on Monday.
Shams, who has been named as the new head of the
Uttarakhand Waqf Board that is responsible for managing Muslim religious sites,
quoted police officers and local intelligence unit saying the shrine has become
a den of “human trafficking, drugs, and prostitution”. “So many such cases have
come to light and it has now become intolerable. We have decided that under
Modi’s cleanliness campaign, we will cleanse the place of the wrong people.
From top to bottom, we will clean the place with a broom and bulldozer.”
The earthmover or bulldozer has become a symbol of
extra-judiciary crackdown through the demolition of properties in BJP ruled
states against those considered criminals, rioters, and anti-social elements.
Shams said they will run a campaign with assistance
from the public and that “wrong people” would not be allowed in Devbhoomi (land
of God). “This is [Pushkar Singh] Dhami’s government. At any cost, these
corrupt people and those who indulge in prostitution, and human trafficking
will not be tolerated. It is ruining generations.”
Congress leader Garima Dasauni hit out at the BJP over
Shams’s comments. “It appears BJP leaders are power-drunk and have lost their
minds. We are proud of the fact that Uttarakhand is known as devbhoomi, which
is home to religious sites like Nanakmatta and Piran Kaliyar where people in
large numbers come and seek blessings.” She added the comments will hurt
religious centres and affect the state’s tourism.
Dasauni said there even if there is some truth to
Shams’s claims, then whose failure it is as the BJP has been in power for over
five years. She added Shams has sought to polarise voters ahead of panchayat
elections and that he was doing so at the behest of BJP’s leadership.
Muhammad Nizamuddin, a Congress leader and former
lawmaker from Haridwar, said targeting a particular religion has become a trend
in the Modi era. “Piran Kaliyar is located 15 km from Senior Superintendent of
Police’s office...security arrangements remain in place there as...religious
events happen on a regular basis. If the atmosphere of Piran Kaliyar is
spoiled, then it is the same everywhere in Uttarakhand.”
BJP leader Manveer Singh Chauhan said Piran Kaliyar is
a big area and Shams’s statement was the context of complaints he received
about illegal practices in hotels and other places. He added it needs
“cleanliness” as it is the responsibility of their government to do it.
Police chief Ashok Kumar said they were aware of “the
law-and-order situation” in Piran Kaliyar. “...as and when any such case comes
to our knowledge, police take strict action.”
Shams did not respond to calls despite repeated
attempts.
Piran Kaliyar is the final resting place of the
13th-century saint Alauddin Ali Ahmed on the outskirts of Roorkee. Millions of
devotees from India and abroad visit the shrine around 15 km from Haridwar.
Source: Hindustan Times
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original story:
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Court To Hear Suit Seeking Ban on Muslims in Gyanvapi,
Handing the Complex to Hindus and Permitting Daily Worship of Lord Aadi
Visheshwar
Photo: The Times of India
----
Sep 14, 2022
VARANASI: A fast-track court will hear from October 6
the maintainability of a suit seeking a ban on the entry of Muslims in Gyanvapi
mosque, handing the complex to Hindus and permitting daily worship of Lord Aadi
Visheshwar there.
The suit was filed by Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh
(VVVS) in May, with the organisation’s chief Jitendra Singh Visen making his
wife Kiran Singh the plaintiff.
Anjuman Intejamia Masajid, the mosque management
committee, had to begin arguments challenging the maintainability of the
petition before the civil judge, senior division (fast-track court), Mahendra
Kumar Pandey, said VVSS lawyer Shivam Gaur on Tuesday. “But two AIM lawyers
informed the court that arguments could not be started from Tuesday as their
senior was unwell. The court gave time to AIM, but made it clear the hearing
would begin from October 6 and continue daily,” Gaur said.
VVSS is backing Rakhi Singh, one of the five
plaintiffs seeking the right to unrestricted daily worship of goddess Shringar
Gauri and other deities on the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The Varanasi district
court allowed Monday maintainability of the women’s petition that was
questioned by AIM.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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To Exit FATF Grey List, Pakistan Asks Taliban to Hunt for
JeM Chief Masood Azhar in Afghanistan
File picture of
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar | ANI Photo
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Praveen Swami
14 September, 2022
New Delhi: A letter seeking the arrest of
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar Alvi, sent by Pakistan to the
Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, was despatched by Islamabad just
days ahead of an inspection by monitors from the multinational Financial Action
Task Force (FATF), Indian government sources told ThePrint.
An earlier letter seeking Azhar’s arrest was sent to
the Islamic Emirate in January, the sources said.
“We have written a one-page letter to the Afghan
Foreign Ministry asking them to locate, report and arrest Masood Azhar, as we
believe that he is hiding somewhere in Afghanistan,” an official had told Geo
News on Tuesday. The Taliban has denied knowledge of Azhar’s whereabouts.
FATF monitors had made a five-day visit to Pakistan
beginning on 28 August, to verify on-ground actions the country is required to
take before it can exist a grey-list of countries where terrorist groups remain
able to access financing.
Following Pakistan’s January letter, ThePrint had
revealed that the Jaish-e-Muhammad had continued to hold public events to mark
the killing of jihadists in Kashmir. Fighters of the JeM — in video obtained by
ThePrint showed — fired shots in the air at a function near Rawlakote, and
shouted pro-jihad slogans.
The event was attended by the JeM head for
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Muhammad Ilyas.
Islamabad’s request to the Taliban was issued after an
anti-terrorism court in the city of Gujaranwala had issued an arrest warrant
for Azhar – a UN-designated global terrorist – on charges of raising funds for
a terrorist group. The Pakistan government also incarcerated key leaders of the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) it had earlier claimed to be unable to locate, notably
26/11 perpetrator Sajid Mir.
Evidence has long existed of ties between the
Jaish-e-Mohammed and the Taliban. In May, United Nations sanctions monitors
reported that the JeM “maintains eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of
which are directly under Taliban control.”
Last year, the United Nations had recorded that the
Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed “were stated to have approximately 800 and
200 armed fighters, respectively, co-located with Taliban forces in Mohmand
Darah, Dur Baba and Sherzad Districts of Nangarhar Province.”
Following the 2016 Jaish-e-Mohammed attack on the
Indian Air Force base in Pathankot, the law minister of the Pakistani province
of Punjab, Rana Sanaullah, had announced that Azhar had been taken into
“protective custody”.
The Jaish chief has since issued several articles and
speeches, but is not known to have made public appearances. Indian intelligence
officials believe Azhar—who suffers from long-standing cardiac and renal health
issues—has since remained at homes in Rawalpindi and Bahwalpur, under the
protection of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.
Leadership of the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s empire of
seminaries and military training camps has, intelligence sources told ThePrint,
largely fallen to Azhar’s brother, Abdul Rauf Rasheed Alvi. Rauf was sanctioned
by the United States Treasury Department in 2010 for his role in “deadly
attacks against innocent civilians in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.”
Following the 2019 suicide-bomb attack in Pulwama,
Pakistan had announced that it was taking over administration of the
Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The seminary, with space for over 12,000 students, was built on land revealed
to be owned by Rauf.
Later, however, Bahawalpur Deputy Commissioner
Shahzaib Saeed told a group of visiting journalists it was just “routine
seminary having no link with the Jaish-e-Mohammed”.
Fawwad Chaudhury, former information minister for
Punjab province, weighed in, too, proclaiming “India is doing propaganda that
it is the Jaish-e-Mohammed’s headquarters.”
The seminary, a Bahawalpur resident told ThePrint,
continues to be in operation, with armed guards protecting access to the complex.
The Masjid Usman-o-Ali, the JeM’s other major facility in Bahawalpur, also
remains open.
Source: The Print
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Abraham Accords: Experts hail two years of growing
ties between UAE, Israel, Bahrain
Bahrain’s Foreign Minister
Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United
Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed display their copies of
signed agreements while U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as they
participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords, normalizing
relations between Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, in a strategic
realignment of Middle Eastern countries against Iran, on the South Lawn of the
White House in Washington, U.S., September 15, 2020. (Reuters)
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14 September, 2022
Ambassadors and business leaders across Israel,
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have hailed another record year of
business deals, trade deals and closer ties between the Middle Eastern nations
as the second anniversary of the historic Abraham Accords is marked.
Speaking to Al Arabiya English, experts said the
nations are continuing to benefit from the normalization agreement as the
two-year milestone is marked on Thursday.
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and
co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council, said over the past two years the
UAE has become one of the fastest-growing trade partners for Israel with new
deals spanning sectors including aviation, energy, technology, and health,
among others.
She predicts trade deals will double in the 12 months
ahead.
“One highlight is the Free Trade Agreement that was
signed and paves the way to creating opportunities in key industries, including
energy, financial services, distribution, construction, hospitality, and
others,” she said. “We predict that in year three of this relationship, we will
see trade more than double from $1.2 billion to $3 billion, excluding
services.”
Hassan-Nahoum also said there’s been an exciting
“domino effect” where other countries like Egypt and Jordan are benefiting from
increased trade with Israel.
“We are blessed to be living in a new era in our
region which creates stability and opportunity,” she told Al Arabiya English.
On August 13, 2020, the UAE and Israel announced that
they would be establishing relations. This was followed by Bahrain and Israel
on September 11, 2020.
Days later, on September 15, the three countries
signed the Abraham Accords Declaration which stated their recognition of “the
importance of maintaining and strengthening peace in the Middle East and around
the world based on mutual understanding and coexistence, as well as respect for
human dignity and freedom, including religious freedom.”
Sudan and Morocco have also since signed the peace
agreement.
Houda Nonoo, former Ambassador of Bahrain to the US,
said the accords have been monumental for the region.
“As citizens of this region, we must celebrate the
milestones between our nation,” he said. “Through our support of them, coupled
with the guiding light that our leaders and their diplomatic emissaries
provide, we are able to watch as this relationship reaches its true potential.
If this past year is any indication, the relationship between Bahrain and
Israel is strong and will continue to flourish.”
“There is a Chinese proverb that says, ‘one generation
plants the trees; another gets the shade,’ our generation signed the Accords to
create a better future for our children and generations to come,” he told Al
Arabiya English.
Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, a
non-profit organization that promotes Israeli innovation around the world, said
the Abraham Accords have “unleashed great opportunity and potential for our
region.”
He added: “We have shifted the dialogue from defense
and security to innovation and collaboration.”
“As we look back over the last two years, innovation
and technology have played a central role in the business exchange,” Hasson
told Al Arabiya English.
According to the CEO, trade and investment between
Israel and the countries that signed the Abraham Accords will double in 2023
with innovation and technology playing a significant part.
“Also, more Israeli companies will open offices in the
Accords countries and will hire and train local tech talent, addressing the
human capital challenge while also contributing to the development of the
innovation ecosystem in these countries,” Hasson added.
Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official
and a senior official on Arab affairs, said: “I do not foresee the remaining
GCC countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait – officially joining the
full framework of the Abraham Accords in the near future, though there is
business being conducted between Israel and many of these countries.”
He believes relations between the Abraham Accord
countries ”will continue and deepen in the coming years with an emphasis on the
following sectors: intelligence, anti-missiles and rocket technologies, cyber
as well as advanced technologies that help solve and mitigate environmental and
climate challenges.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Citizenship-Stripping Has Made British Muslims ‘Second
Class Citizens’: Institute Of Race Relations
At least 217 citizens were
deprived of citizenship since 2003, with numbers ramping up significantly
following the collapse of Daesh. (FILE/AFP)
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13 September 2022
Citizenship-stripping powers introduced since 2002
have enshrined a “second-class citizenship” in the UK, mainly affecting British
Muslims, says a new report from the Institute of Race Relations.
Written in the wake of the Nationality and Borders
Act, Citizenship: from right to privilege shows how outrage against the
controversial Section 10 of the Act, which allows citizenship to be removed
without notice, heightened public awareness of the powers, and provoked a
groundswell of opposition amongst campaigners, MPs and Lords.
The report explains how both Labour and Conservative
governments have given ministers successively wider powers to remove
citizenship from those with access to another citizenship – who are mainly
ethnic minorities – and how the targets are almost exclusively British Muslims
of south Asian heritage.
The power to remove citizenship increased heavily
following its use against Muslim preacher Abu Hamza in 2003. Before this, no
removal of citizenship had been authorised for 30 years, but since then there
have been at least 217 removals of citizenship, with 104 removals in 2017
following the collapse of ISIS in Syria.
The Home Office is not required to show objectively
reasonable grounds to remove a person’s citizenship, nor does the person need
to have been convicted of any offence, with many deprived despite having no
criminal convictions.
The government claims that only those whose actions
pose grave threats to national security, or who have committed abhorrent
crimes, will lose their citizenship.
But the report’s author, IRR vice-chair Frances Webber
believes the powers affect far more people, effectively creating a second-class
of largely minority ethnic Britons whose citizenship is disposable and
contingent.
She said: “Changes to citizenship law which have
created these classes of citizenship were brought in to target British Muslims
of south Asian and Middle Eastern heritage. Such divisions act as a constant
reminder to minority ethnic citizens that they must watch their step, and
reinforce racist messages about ‘undeserving’ racialised groups unworthy of
being British.”
The report argues that the ambiguous, undefined
criteria for deprivation increases the likelihood of arbitrary and
discriminatory decisions, and warns of the risk of abuse of the powers for
political purposes.
This warning comes after the disclosure that Shamima
Begum, whose citizenship was removed by then Home Secretary Sajid Javid in
2018, had been trafficked into Syria by a spy working for Canada.
“The recent revelation of how Begum was trafficked,
and the collusion of the British authorities in the cover-up, suggests that
risk is a reality,” said Webber. “It raises the question: was Begum’s
citizenship removed to divert attention from Western agencies’ prioritisation
of intelligence gathering over safeguarding vulnerable trafficked girls?”
Webber added that the legislation is also a threat to
racialised communities’ right to dissent or criticise the government, with
Muslims turned into a “suspect community.” She said the increased use of the
powers, alongside other provisions affecting Muslim communities, including the
controversial Prevent duty, has coincided with the government’s shift away from
racial and religious equality protections, which new prime minister Liz Truss
has described as “favouritism.”
“The ‘deportation logic’ on which the deprivation
powers are based – get rid of them, regardless of family ties, or how long they
have lived here – is the logic that deprived the Windrush generation of their
livelihoods, their homes, in some cases their freedom and their country,”
Webber said.
Source: 5pillarsuk
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India
Hindus need Gyanvapi: How holy Varanasi temples were
desecrated by Muslims in the name of the mosque
Siddhartha Rai
September 14, 2022
New Delhi: Varanasi or Benaras has from
time-immemorial been the Mecca of the Indian sub-continent, the keeper of the
Hindu identity and a repository of Hindu culture. It has also been central to
the reckoning of Hindu politics as also pivotal to any attempt to reckon with
the Indian civilisation and its greatness.
Often maligned in Western as well as Left-liberal
historiography as the locus of Hindu civilization and society’s ‘dark
underbelly’— Brahmanical hegemony to Sati and thagi —Varanasi has endured not
just the onslaughts of historical constructions, but is also the locus of
modern history’s first tryst with Hindu-Muslim communitarian strife along
faultlines that still contested.
In essence, Varanasi forms the bridge of continuity of
problematic and competitive Hindu-Muslim relations in pre-colonial medieval
Muslim times in India through the British Raj to the present day.
Therefore, Varanasi is the essence of India; the
history of Varanasi is also the history of India.
And, the Gyanvapi mosque is at the heart of the
history of Varanasi.
The history of Gyanvapi mosque, in turn, is also the
history of Hindu humiliation ever since Aurangzeb ordered it built over the
remains of the Vishwanath temple as a symbol of indignity of Hindus—portions of
the ancient walls were left exposed at places to rub-in Muslim domination.
On the historical timeline, Gyanvapi complex was the
site of modern India’s first Hindu-Muslim riots, back in 1809-10.
To be exact, the Lat Bhairav or Bhairav’s Pillar was
the target of ire during the riots. It was not just desecrated in the most foul
manner, but broken and reduced to a stump by a Muslim mob.
The Kapal Mochan ground that stands between Gyanvapi
mosque and the Kashi Vishwanath temple had several Hindu and Muslim sacred
structures, including Lat Bhairav and the temple of Vishweshwar.
The Hindu-Muslim riots in 1809 was sparked when a
Hindu attempted to replace the makeshift mud temple of Lord Hanuman on the
contested ground between the idgah and Lat Bhairav with a permanent stone
structure he had vowed to if he recovered from illness. A huge Muslim crowd on
20 October, 1809, gathered during their Friday prayers, and desecrated the Lat.
According to several historical accounts, the Muslim mob overturned Lord
Hanuman’s pedestal, uprooted the adjacent ‘tulsi’ tree, and beat the pillar
with shoes.
Cows were slaughtered at these places held holy by
Hindus. According to some accounts, a cow was slaughtered at one of the holiest
ghats of Varanasi, the Gau Ghat. Historical accounts from that time also record
that an attack was mounted on the Vishweshwar temple, but was foiled by Hindus.
A cow was also reportedly slaughtered by this crowd at the Lat Bhairav and its
blood sprinkled all around the sacred grounds.
Outraged by this sacrilege, the Hindu community
reacted, but only the next day. A thousand-strong mob of Hindus, say historical
records from back then, marched towards the Lat which lay in ruins. Then this
mob attacked the Gyanvapi mosque and, as per accounts, set it on fire.
There was huge loss of life. In the annals of
Hindu-Muslim riots in India, Banaras riots are compared to none other than the
1931 Kanpur riots. Order was restored only when the army was called in, though
outbreaks continued till quite late after the issue had subsided.
Meanwhile, despite all the historical constructions of
secularism in the intervening 200 years since the Banaras riots of 1809, the
Hindu-Muslim faultlines remain as such. Perhaps, the illusory castles that Left-liberal
historians tried to erect in the air upon a dishonest portrayal of Indian
reality has confounded the problem more than ever.
Source: Firstpost
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“Muslims welcome at Garbas, if Quran permits them to
pursue idol worship,” says MP Usha Thakur
13th September 2022
BHOPAL: Just five days after she stated that entry in
Garba Pandals will be allowed only to those possessing authentic ID proofs to
prevent such venues from becoming a medium of ‘Love Jihad,’ Madhya Pradesh’s
culture and tourism minister Usha Thakur has now said, “Muslims will be
welcomed at Garbas if their sacred scripture Quran permits them to pursue idol
worship.”
“Muslims are most welcome to Garbas, provided they
have faith in idol worship and their holy scripture Quran permits them to
pursue idol worship. They aren’t being invited to Garbas, but if they are so
high in faith for the Garbas, then they should have faith in idol worship,
which should be allowed by their sacred scripture Quran as well. Also, Muslim
men, who’ve faith in pursuing idol worship will only be welcomed at Garba
venues, if they come along with their female family members,” Thakur told
journalists in Bhopal on Tuesday.
She reiterated that no one will be allowed at any
Garba venues across the state without authentic identity proof. “We’re writing
to all district collectors, requesting them to ensure that entry at Garbas
during the coming Navratri celebrations is only allowed to those, who carry
authentic ID proofs. This will stop those who hide their actual identity from
entering the Garbas.”
Just five days back, Thakur had said in Gwalior,
“Whoever comes to the Garbas should possess authentic identity proofs, without
proper ID proofs, entry will not be allowed in Garba Pandals.”
“Garbas in the past had turned into a big medium of Love
Jihad activities, but now all concerned stakeholders have become very alert
about it. Just to ensure that no one enters the Garba venues, hiding real
identity, no one should be allowed entry into the Garba pandals without proper
ID proofs,” she had added.
While asking the Garba organisers to ensure strict
implementation of ‘No Entry without ID proof at Garbas,’ the minister had said,
“This is a salaah (advice) as well as naseehat (instruction).”
Importantly, in 2013, while she was the BJP MLA from
Indore-III seat of Indore district, Thakur, ahead of Navratri celebrations had
demanded a ban on entry of non-Hindus, particularly Muslims at the Garba
venues, for preventing Muslim men from seducing Hindu girls and women. She had
then demanded making Aadhar and other ID proofs mandatory for entering the
Garba venues to prevent Muslim men from entering the Garba venues, by posing
themselves as Hindus.
In 2017, an umbrella group of Hindu festival
organisers in Bhopal, the Hindu Utsav Samiti too had demanded from the district
administration in the state capital to make possession of Aadhar documents
necessary as ID proof for entry into the Garba pandals to prevent the entry of
non-Hindus (particularly Muslims) at those venues.
Source: New Indian Express
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‘Madrasas targeted by sectarian forces’, Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind objects to UP govt’s survey
13th September 2022
New Delhi: A Muslim organisation has objected to Uttar
Pradesh government’s move to surveying madarsas. Maulana Arshad Madani,
president Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, clarified that his objection is to the sectarian
mentality in the current situation, not to the order to survey Madrasas.
Madani said: “The way sectarian forces have created an
atmosphere of hatred throughout the country in the last few years, and the role
is being played by the government in this regard, the Muslim is forced to
believe that every policy is coming forward to destroy their existence.”
Madani said that madrassas are being targeted by
sectarian forces and their intentions have to be understood. He also said that
they have always tried to allow religious institutions to run on the basis of the
rights given in the Constitution, but “sectarians are involved in a conspiracy
to destroy them.”
Madani spoke further that, madrasas in Assam are being
bulldozed for being centres of terrorism and offices of Al-Qaeda, spreading
unrest.
Source: Siasat Daily
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Caste In Islam, Christianity: Why SC Is Pushing Centre
To Decide On Reservations For Dalit Muslims, Christians
13 SEP 2022
Amid growing calls for affirmative action by certain
section, the Supreme Court last month gave the Centre three weeks to decide
whether reservation benefits enjoyed by Scheduled Castes can be extended to
Dalit members of Christianity and Islam.
As of now, only Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs can avail
the scheduled castes status under the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order,
1950. However, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, AS Oka and Vikram Nath
said that the “day has come when we have to take a call on this.”
The observation came during the hearing of a petition
file by an NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) which had flagged
the issue for consideration by the court in 2004. In the 18 years that have
passed since, the Centre has failed to file any response in the matter.
Reservation for Dalit Christians and Muslims
Appearing for CPIL, advocate Prashant Bhushan said
that the issues revolves around the question of whether the 1950 Constitution
(Scheduled Castes) Order discriminated against Dalit Muslims and Christians.
The matter has been raised time and again by several
religious as well rights organisations from both Muslim and Christian
communities.
The matter was in news In 2007 when a panel headed by
former SC judge, Justice Ranganath Misra to deliberate on the issue recommended
that the 1050 Order was discriminatory. The NDA government at the Centre
rejected the panel’s report.
Yet again, in 2008,
a study by the National Commission for Minorities recommended granting
reservations among religions other than Hindu, Buddhist or Sikh. This report
was also rejected by the Cenrre.
Castes in Christian community have existed in India
for years. The Malabar Syrian Christians, for instance, to which Booker winning
author Arundhati Roy belongs, are considered one of the highest castes in
Indian Christian community. According to reports, the centre’s primary concern
regarding granting reservation rights is the fear that Dalit Christians, who
have wider access to education and other benefits, may get the upper hand in
placements.
The matter raises also raises a familiar debate within
Islam, many of whose proponents have long claimed that there is no caste system
in Islam - a claim that has been contested by members of Pasmanda Muslim
communities of South Asia.
Islam and Caste
Syedism, which perpetuates a system of inequality, is
found across South Asian Muslim communities. The concept of ‘Zat’ and
“Biradari’ also exists in certain countries like Pakistan.
In 1960, Ghaus Ansari had named four distinct
categories to broadly summarise division of Muslims in India: The Ashrafs who
claim descent from foreign origin - these include the Sayyids, the Abbasids,
the Mughals and are at the top of the social hierarchy. Then come upper caste
converts such as Butts, Rajput Muslims or Jat Muslims. Members of other Indian
tribes that have converted to Islam formed another run which included
communities like the Darzis, Dhobis, Faqirs, Julahas, Kumhars and others. The
last run of the social ladder inlcluded the converts from lower castes that
were considered “untouchable”, such as Bhangis.
Today, upper caste Hindus who converted to Islam are
broadly considered be Ashraf. The neologism Pasmandas (meaning those who were
left behind) is used to refer to Ajlaf and Arzal Muslims, considered lower in
the social heirarchy by the Ashrafs, who have historically dominated the
social, political and economic sphere. Ajlafs' statuses are defined by them
being descendants of converts to Islam and are also defined by their pesha
(profession). Marriages between Ashrafs and Pasmandas are still looked down
upon in several places.
In the Bengal region (including both Bangladesh and
West Bengal, a 2009 paper titled “Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia: A
Study of Bangladesh" by Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury noted that there were as
many as 35 Muslim castes in Bengal. Largely, the Muslim society in West Bengal
has been divided into three hierarchical categories: Sharif/Ashraf at the top,
followed by the Atraf (low-born), and with the Arzal or Ajlaf at the bottom.
Lower castes historically are not allowed to enter mosques or be buried in the
public burial ground.
In the paper titled Dalits and Tribes of India, J
Cyril Kanmony noted that that Medieval Ashraf scholars had mentioned that
Muslims of Afghan, Iranian, Arab, and Central Asian origin were superior while
local converts were inferior.
Anis Ansari retired as the Additional Chief Secretary
of Uttar Pradesh and the chairman of UP Congress’s Ex-Officer’s Organisation
has been a vocal advocate for the Pasmanda Muslim community’s rights. In a
previous interview with Outlook, Ansari had noted that “Muslims also have a
graded inequality” and that “the Ashrafs have severely damaged the backward
Muslims”.
Source: Outlook India
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South
Asia
Restrictions Will Cause Distance Between Kabul, World:
Islamic Emirate
September 14, 2022
The Islamic Emirate’s Political Office in Qatar said
that the imposition of restrictions and pressure have not had any result over
the past 20 years and will only create distance between Kabul and the
international community.
The head of the office, Suhail Shaheen, called on the
UN Security Council to pursue negotiations and diplomacy regarding Afghanistan.
“There should be no restriction on traveling nor
should these restrictions be used as pressure, because it has not had any
result before and will not have any result now,” he told TOLOnews.
This comes as the UNSC has yet to decide whether to
extend or end the travel ban exemption for 13 members of the Islamic Emirate.
“The sanctions and the blacklists, they are all
problematic. It causes further distance, which should be closed instead. It is
important to end the issue of sanctions and blacklists,” said Bilal Karimi,
deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.
Meanwhile, analysts said they believe that imposed
restrictions on travel for Islamic Emirate members will sideline Afghanistan.
“If the travel ban exemption of the Taliban officials
is not extended, I believe that the political and economic situation will
deteriorate,” said Ahmad Khan Andar, a political analyst.
To recognize the government of the Islamic Emirate,
the international community has put the formation of an inclusive government,
upholding of human rights and women’s rights, and the prevention of the use of
Afghan soil against other countries by terrorists, as conditions.
Source: Tolo News
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Islamic Emirate Yet to Be Invited to SCO Meeting in
Uzbekistan
September 14, 2022
The Islamic Emirate said its delegation has yet to be
invited to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting due to
be held on September 15- 16 in Samarkand of Uzbekistan.
“The Islamic Emirate has always had good relations
with the members of the SCO. We hope this summit has good results so there will
be progress via negotiations and diplomatic cooperation regarding the issues
within the Islamic Emirate,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the
Islamic Emirate.
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that
Afghanistan is an integral part of the larger “SCO space."
“The Afghan people need good neighbors and their
support now more than ever. It is our moral obligation to extend a helping
hand, to offer them effective ways of overcoming the years-long crisis by
promoting socio-economic growth of the country, its integration into regional
and global development processes,” he said.
15 countries will attend, including China, India,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, along
with observer nations Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia.
The SCO summit is expected to discuss the economic,
political and security situation of Afghanistan.
“The government should adjust itself with the region
and beyond that with the international community in order to be recognized, so
it can be present at such a gathering,” said Torek Farhadi, a political
analyst.
“Afghanistan maybe is on the agenda of the discussion
and the member countries will share their concerns and proposals. The security
issue will be more in focus there,” said Janat Fahim Chakari, political
analyst.
Source: Tolo News
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Taliban Says 40 Rebel Force Members Killed in Northern
Panjshir
13 September, 2022
Kabul: The Taliban said on September 13 that they had
killed 40 rebel force members, including four commanders, in the northern
Afghan province of Panjshir.
The Taliban proclaimed victory over the province in
September 2021, weeks after they took over the capital Kabul as foreign forces
withdrew.
Resistance groups have since said they have been
carrying out operations in the area and clashing with Taliban fighters.
The Taliban has in the past denied widespread
fighting, saying they have established control of the entire country.
“Due to a clearance operation against rebels in Rekha,
Dara and Afshar (areas) of Panjshir province, 40 have been killed including
four commanders and 100 more have been arrested,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid said in a Tweet on Tuesday.
The National Resistance Front, a group opposing the
Taliban which has in the past claimed activity in the area, did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Source: The Wire
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Arab
World
Iraq: Sadr calls for armed militias not to be included
in security during Shia pilgrimage
September 12, 2022
Prominent Iraqi leader Moqtada Al-Sadr yesterday
called to keep the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the Peace Brigades, the
military wing of his Sadrist movement, away from any security work during the
Shia religious observance of Arbaeen.
The Arbaeen, a holy day for Shia Muslims which begins
on Friday evening and lasts until Saturday evening, commemorates the 40th day
after the Day of Ashura, the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein Ibn
Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Al-Sadr has instructed his followers to march towards
Karbala to participate in commemorating the holy day, he also told them to
respect the religious value of the event, instructing them that no faction,
party, military, or sect raise its banners.
"Do not raise pictures at all, neither for
martyrs nor anyone else, for all of them, may God Almighty be pleased with
them, are in heaven with Imam Hussein," Al-Sadr said.
Source: Middle East Monitor
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Syrian govt. troops block US military convoy in
Hasakah, force it to turn back
14 September 2022
Amid smoldering public resentment over the deployment
of American occupation forces in northeastern Syria, government troops have
blocked a US military convoy as it was attempting to pass through a community
in the energy-rich province of Hasakah.
According to a report published by Syria’s official
news agency SANA, Syrian army troops, deployed at a security checkpoint in the
Munsif district, intercepted the convoy of four armored vehicles and a pickup
truck on Tuesday.
The American troops were subsequently forced to turn
around and go back in the direction they came from. There were no reports of
clashes or injuries.
Back on July 21, residents of Tal Aswad village on the
outskirts of Qamishli city in Hasakah province blocked a US convoy from
advancing in the region and forced it to retreat.
SANA cited local sources as saying that the convoy was
made up of four military vehicles that tried to rumble through a checkpoint,
but was forced to return to where it had come from.
The US military has for long stationed its forces and
equipment in northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment
is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of
Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant
to plunder the country’s natural resources. Former US president Donald Trump
admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for
its oil wealth.
On August 30, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman
denounced the illegal presence of US military forces in Syria, saying
Washington’s continued looting of the war-torn country’s energy and mineral
resources has only exacerbated the suffering of the Syrian people.
Source: Press TV
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President of Kazakhstan, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar review
cooperation in promoting true image of Islam
13-09-2022
NUR-SULTAN, 13th September, 2022 (WAM) -- President of
Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, at the
Presidential Palace here today to review the prospects of promoting
cooperation.
Tokayev addressed the importance of religious
education during the meeting wherein he said that Kazakhstan considers Al Azhar
University a "beacon, spreading the light of the values of our common
religion – Islam."
"It is critical that the university’s scientists
that promote the concepts of tolerance and endurance, patience and kindness,
participate in the discussion of the world and traditional religious
leaders," he added.
He hailed the conditions for Kazakh students at
Al-Azhar University, regarded as the heart of Islamic education for its role in
combating religious extremism.
For his part, the Grand Imam expressed his delight at
participating in the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions, appreciating the efforts made by Kazakhstan, through this global
religious summit, to consolidate a culture of coexistence and dialogue.
Source: WAM
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https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395303083106
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Pro-Iran faction in Iraq sticks to its pick for
premier
13 September, 2022
The main coalition of pro-Iran parties in Iraq said
Monday it would keep its candidate for the post of prime minister, despite a
backlash from its main Shia rival.
The country is at a political impasse, with the two
main Shia groups clashing since October 2021 elections over who will be the
next premier and how to appoint him.
The group headed by Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
wants parliament dissolved and early elections, but the Coordination Framework
alliance of pro-Tehran factions wants a government to be put in place first.
On Monday, the Coordination Framework said it had
reached an “understanding” with other political factions on how to proceed.
In a press release published by the INA state news
agency, the Coordination Framework reiterated “its total commitment to its
candidate presented for the post of Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani”.
The group's nomination of Sudani as premier had
previously angered al-Sadr, whose supporters stormed parliament in late July,
demanding fresh elections. They then staged a weeks-long sit-in outside the
legislature.
On Monday, the Coordination Framework claimed to have
reached “understandings with the national forces”.
It said it would “continue dialogue with all the
parties ... to form a government endowed with full powers”.
The Coordination Framework also welcomed a declaration
by Sunni-backed parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi and the Democratic
Party of Kurdistan (KDP).
On Sunday these two factions had reiterated their
support for “early elections”, but preceded by “the formation of a government”.
Iraq's latest crisis culminated at the end of August
with al-Sadr supporters clashing with the army and the Iran-backed factions.
More than 30 al-Sadr supporters were killed and
hundreds wounded in nearly 24 hours of violence that ended when he called on
his supporters to pull out and announced he was retiring from politics.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Syrians have right to return home but conditions not
yet met: EU
Beyza Binnur Donmez
13.09.2022
The EU said Tuesday that it supports the rights of
Syrians to return to their homeland but acknowledged that conditions for that
have not been met.
"What is required first is to create conditions
for safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees and the internally
displaced, in accordance with international law and the principle of
non-refoulement," said the EU mission in Syria on Twitter.
The mission noted that the head of the EU delegation
to Syria, Dan Stoenescu, met UN High Commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi
in Damascus.
"The EU will support UN-facilitated returns in a
timely manner, when and as soon as conditions become available, it added.
Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since
early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with
unexpected ferocity.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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A visit to the Barking Lot in Al-Khobar, Saudi
Arabia’s first cafe dedicated to dogs
JASMINE BAGER
September 13, 2022
ALKHOBAR: Blal Antika overcame his big fear of dogs when
he began working at the Kingdom’s first cafe dedicated to canines, the Barking
Lot, eight months ago.
Today, Antika is like a protective big cousin,
standing stoically at the entrance of the building with its clear glass
exterior, mindfully scanning the area, while energetically high-fiving people
he recognizes.
He is the first friendly but firm face that greets you
and the last one you see before leaving.
A jack of all trades, he does a little bit of
everything. While sipping on his favorite iced white mocha from the cafe, he
lifts the gate to let people and their best friends in and out.
He is now part of the whole Barking Lot visitor
experience, but even he was surprised to be in this position.
“Growing up in Jeddah, I never thought I’d be
surrounded by dogs. I’ve always had a sense of adventure so when I got an offer
to work at the dog cafe in Alkhobar, I was curious. Even though I always had a
fear of dogs, I thought to try it anyway. Now, I miss them whenever I am not
around them,” Antika told Arab News.
The unique cafe has 14 in-house dogs while others
visit regularly.
The Alkhobar branch has been in operation for over two
years. With plenty of snacks for both humans and dogs, the cafe caters to those
who want their animals to play in a safe and controlled environment or chat
with other people, to exchange tips and show off their furry friends’ new
tricks.
Humans can sit in chairs in the back, placed along the
clear glass walls overlooking the city, where passersby occasionally peer in
curiously.
Occasionally, some dogs will urinate from excitement
but a staff member quickly comes to mop and sanitize the spot. You can hear
bursts of barking, as dogs enter and exit, but this doesn’t last long.
The cafe also has a grooming station where they can
get their nails clipped and showered.
Ameerah, who was raised in Dhahran, returned last year
after living in Canada, armed with a degree and her first dog, Lilly.
The 20-kilogram highly energetic combination golden
retriever and poodle is a golden doodle.
“When I first got Lilly, she was only seven weeks. I
was very excited because this is the first time I got a pet, and that was a
dream of mine from childhood. When I first got her, it was abroad so everything
was open. You know, people there understand what it means to own a pet and
raise it. It’s like their child in the house but here it’s different,” she told
Arab News.
In Saudi Arabia, dogs have traditionally been excluded
from living in homes. They were kept on farms or used for security purposes.
But over the last decade, there has been a shift in the culture.
On the night of our visit, you could hear giddy
children calling out to Lilly. One young girl asked if she could feed Lilly a
treat but Ameerah gently declined and explained that this would give the canine
indigestion. The little girl happily petted Lilly instead. It’s not hard to see
why Lilly is a local favorite.
Lilly sweetly interacts with other larger dogs and
socializes in the controlled environment. Her mother enjoys these visits and
appreciates how the Barking Lot cafe is helping to broaden the understanding of
what it means to include a woman’s best friend to the cultural mix.
Lilly helped Ameerah cope with being away from home
during the pandemic and is now helping her hometown accept dogs as legitimate
members of the family.
The cafe also helps both of them beat the sweltering
Saudi heat.
“The weather, of course, is a shock for me and her and
when I came to the cafe, you know, everything is enclosed. It has AC so I’d
rather bring her here than taking her to play in the park. We’re either at home
or at the cafe,” she said.
Source: Arab News
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Europe
God does not back war, pope tells religious conference
September 14, 2022
NUR-SULTAN: Pope Francis said today that God does not
guide religions towards war, an implicit criticism of Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Kirill, who backs the invasion of Ukraine and has boycotted a conference of
faith leaders.
On his second day in Kazakhstan, Francis addressed the
Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, a meeting that
brings together Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and other faiths.
The congress is marked by Kirill’s conspicuous
absence. He was to have attended but later pulled out.
The Russian Orthodox Church sent a delegation.
“God is peace. He guides us always in the way of
peace, never that of war,” Francis said, speaking at a huge round table in the
Independence Palace, a huge modern structure made of steel and glass in the
capital of the former Soviet republic.
“Let us commit ourselves, then, even more to insisting
on the need for resolving conflicts not by the inconclusive means of power,
with arms and threats, but by the only means blessed by heaven and worthy of
man: encounter, dialogue and patient negotiations,” he said.
The pope, who earlier this year said Kirill could not
be Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “altar boy,” told the conference: The
sacred must never be a prop for power, nor power a prop for the sacred!”
Kirill has given enthusiastic backing to Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, which the patriarch views as a bulwark against a West he
calls decadent.
His stance has caused a rift with the Vatican and
unleashed an internal rebellion that has led to the severing of ties by some
local Orthodox Churches with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Francis also said that while violence in God’s name
was never justified, the “viruses” of hate and terrorism would not be
eradicated without first wiping out injustice and poverty.
He said religious freedom was essential for peaceful
coexistence in any society and no creed had a right to coerce others to
convert.
“It is time to realize that fundamentalism defiles and
corrupts every creed,” he said. “Let us free ourselves of those reductive and
destructive notions that offend the name of God by harshness, extremism and
forms of fundamentalism, and profane it through hatred, fanaticism, and
terrorism, disfiguring the image of man as well.”
But merely condemning extremism was not enough.
“As long as inequality and injustice continue to
proliferate, there will be no end to viruses even worse than Covid: the viruses
of hatred, violence and terrorism,” he said.
Francis, who wrote a major document in 2015 on the
need to protect the environment, said religious leaders had to be in the front
line in bringing attention to the dangers of climate change and extreme
weather, particularly its effects on society’s poor and vulnerable.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Taliban Failed to Uphold any Promises Made: EU Special
Envoy at UNHRC
By Arif Ahmadi
13 Sep 2022
KABUL, Afghanistan – At the 51st session of the UN
Human Rights Council (HRC 51) in Geneva Monday, the Special Envoy of the
European Union for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson said the Taliban have failed to
uphold any promises made, recalling Afghanistan is a party to the Rome Statute.
The remarks came at a time global leaders – including
international community – have raised concern over increasing number of
violation against human rights and girls education under the Taliban leadership
in Afghanistan.
“The EU remains deeply alarmed by the increase of
human rights violations and abuses and international humanitarian law
violations in Afghanistan,” said the European Union in a statement.
“Accountability must be ensured and, in this regard, we recall that Afghanistan
is a party to the Rome Statute.”
While the school for grade six girls and above
remained close since the beginning of the school year in March, the EU
reiterates its commitment to equal opportunity for Afghan women and girls in
all spheres of life.
“The situation of women and girls’ rights continues to
deteriorate,” the statement reads. “The EU reiterates its unwavering commitment
to the full, equal and meaningful participation of all women and girls in all
spheres of life in Afghanistan, as well as to their protection from all forms
of violence.”
Furthermore, the statement exclaimed that persons
belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and groups, LGBTI persons, human
rights defenders, journalists and other media workers suffer killings,
arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, physical abuse and torture are
unacceptable.
“The shrinking space for civil society and
restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms remain a primary
concern,” the statement added.
The EU has defined five benchmarks as principles for
engaging with the Taliban.. So far, the Taliban have failed to uphold any
promises made. The EU call on the Taliban to enable the full implementation of
the human rights mandate of the UNAMA.
The 51st Regular Session of the Human Rights Council
(HRC51) is taking place in Geneva and online from 12 September to 7 October
2022.
Meanwhile, the so-called Islamic Emirate rule has
repeatedly defied the international community, saying its leadership has
“fulfilled all the promises it made with the United States in the Doha
Agreement.”
“The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the
territory of Afghanistan against the United States and its allies,” said
Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Zabihullah Mujahid in a thread. “In
addition, IEA is also committed to providing all the Shariah rights of its
citizens.”
Reflecting on the overall security of the country, the
spokesman said a “peaceful atmosphere” has been created in the country, where
women and men could rightfully take part on Afghanistan’s development.
“In Afghanistan, a normal life and peaceful atmosphere
has been created for women and men, and the rights of all minorities are
maintained,” he said. “Moreover, the system and way of life in Afghanistan are
issues related to Afghans.”
Source: Khaama Press
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Taliban reject UN report, say no women fired from
government jobs
Sep 13, 2022
KABUL: Taliban authorities on Tuesday condemned UN
accusations that they are violating the rights of women to work in Afghanistan,
insisting thousands are employed in the country's public sector.
But Sharafuddin Sharaf, chief of staff at the ministry
of labour and social affairs, told AFP that many women were being paid despite
not attending work, as offices were not set up for proper segregation of the
sexes.
"Working together in one office is not possible
in our Islamic system," he said, a day after a United Nations rights
expert said there had been a "staggering regression" in women's
rights since the Taliban's return to power in August.
He could offer no figure on the number of women
working but insisted "not a single female employee has been fired"
from the civil service.
However, there have been several protests by women
over losing their jobs and demanding the right to work -- some of which have
been put down forcefully by the Taliban.
Sharaf said some women only went to work "once in
a week to their relevant offices to sign their attendance, and their salaries
are paid at their homes".
This takes place in offices where "gender-based
segregation is yet to be done," he said, adding that women were at work in
the health, education and interior ministries where they are needed.
Sharaf said it was up to the all-male leadership of
the Taliban to decide when women "can come to the rest of the offices
where they are not coming currently".
His comments come after a UN rights expert said
women's freedoms had significantly deteriorated since the Taliban returned.
"There's no country in the world where women and
girls have so rapidly been deprived of their fundamental human rights purely
because of gender," Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur on the rights
situation in Afghanistan said in Geneva.
Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Bennett's
report was biased.
"There is no threat to the lives of women in
Afghanistan now, or nobody dishonours Afghan women," he said in a
statement late on Monday, adding that they are still being enrolled in public
and private universities.
Still, most secondary schools for girls have been
ordered to shut across the country, meaning this generation of women university
students could be the last.
Several Taliban officials say the ban is only
temporary, but they have also wheeled out a litany of excuses for the closure
-- from a lack of funds to time needed to remodel the syllabus along Islamic
lines.
On Monday, the education minister was quoted by local
media as saying it was a cultural issue, as many rural people did not want
their daughters to attend school.
Since the Taliban seized power, they have imposed
harsh restrictions on girls and women to comply with their austere vision of
Islam -- effectively squeezing them out of public life.
They swiftly shut down the ministry of women's affairs
and replaced it with the ministry for the promotion of virtue and prevention of
vice.
Source: Times Of India
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CENTCOM urges nations to bring Daesh relatives home
from Syria
September 13, 2022
AMMAN/BEIRUT: The head of the US armed forces’ Central
Command has urged countries from around the world to repatriate their nationals
from a northeast Syrian camp housing jihadists’ wives and children.
Al-Hol camp holds around 56,000 people — mostly
Syrians and Iraqis, but also around 10,000 who consist largely of wives and
children of Daesh fighters originating from further afield.
Many were taken to the camp during the defeat of the
jihadist group’s self-declared caliphate by US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces in
2019.
“I encourage all of the countries that have citizens
there to repatriate, rehabilitate and reintegrate” camp residents, CENTCOM’s
Gen. Michael Kurilla told reporters in Jordan’s capital Amman.
Syria’s Kurds — who run a semi-autonomous
administration in northeast Syria — have repeatedly begged countries to
repatriate their citizens.
But such calls, despite being echoed by the UN, have
largely fallen on deaf ears, due to fears returnees might pose a security
threat back home and trigger a domestic backlash.
Daesh seized around a third of Iraq and swaths of
war-torn Syria in 2014, recruiting foreign jihadists from around the world,
before it was gradually ground down by US-backed forces on both sides of the
border.
The foreigners at Al-Hol are detained in a secure area
away from other camp residents, since many of them are still highly
radicalized, posing problems for Kurdish guards and other camp residents.
“I think we have to look at this with empathy ...
because there is no military solution to this,” Kurilla said.
“The only solution is to repatriate, rehabilitate and
reintegrate” camp residents.
About 50 percent of Al-Hol’s inhabitants believe
Daesh’s “vile ideology,” Kurilla said, while the other 50 percent “are those
who have no other place to live and would like to ... go back to their native
country.”
The camp has grown increasingly volatile this year,
with at least 26 people murdered up to late August, according to the UN.
Around 700 Daesh-linked Iraqis are being repatriated
per month from Al-Hol, said Kurilla. It will take “about four years” to
repatriate the Iraqi residents alone at that rate, he noted.
“We will have to accelerate that to a much faster”
rate, he said, adding that the US was working with Iraqi authorities toward
that end.
But repatriations to other countries have been even
slower.
In late July, the Kurdish administration handed
Tajikistan 146 women and children related to Daesh fighters, in the first such
repatriation to the ex-Soviet state.
France in early July repatriated 35 children and 16
mothers from camps in northeast Syria, according to the Foreign Ministry,
taking the total number of children returned to Paris to 161.
Kurdish-led forces last month launched a security
operation to flush out fighters hiding out in Al-Hol following a resurgence of
attacks. Dozens of suspected Daesh operatives have been detained and major
networks dismantled since the start of operations, the US-led anti-Daesh
coalition said last week.
Separately, the UN representative in Syria said a
cholera outbreak in several regions of the country presents “a serious threat
to people in Syria and the region.”
He called for an urgent response to contain its
spread.
The outbreak is believed to be linked to irrigation of
crops using contaminated water and people drinking unsafe water from the
Euphrates River which bisects Syria from the north to the east, UN Resident and
Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza said in a statement.
The widespread destruction of national water
infrastructure after more than a decade of war means much of the Syrian
population is reliant on unsafe water sources.
Richard Brennan, Regional Emergency Director of the
World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the agency had
recorded eight deaths from the disease since Aug. 25: Six in Aleppo in the
north and two in Deir Ezzor in the east.
“This is the first confirmed cholera outbreak in
recent years ... the geographic spread gives cause for concern and so we have
to move fast,” he said.
The outbreak is centered in the northern Aleppo
region, where more than 70 percent of a total 936 suspected cases have been
recorded, and Deir Ezzor where more than 20 percent were registered.
A smaller number of suspected cases have been recorded
in Raqqa, Al-Hasaka, Hama and Lattakia.
The number of confirmed cholera cases is 20 in Aleppo,
four in Lattakia and two in Damascus.
Prior to the recent cholera outbreak, the water crisis
had caused an increase in diseases such as diarrhea, malnutrition and skin
conditions in the region, according to the WHO.
Brennan said the WHO was appealing to donors to
increase funding as the organization was already dealing with a number of
cholera outbreaks in the region, including in Pakistan where floods have
exacerbated a pre-existing outbreak.
Source: Arab News
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of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2161991/world
--------
Western powers seek unity against Iran at IAEA but no
resolution: Sources
13 September, 2022
Western powers are lobbying other states on the UN nuclear
watchdog's board to jointly pressure Iran to give the agency the answers it has
long sought on uranium traces found at three undeclared sites, diplomats said
on Tuesday.
At its last quarterly meeting in June the
International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a
resolution expressing “profound concern” that the traces remain unexplained due
to insufficient cooperation by Iran, and calling on Tehran to engage with the
watchdog “without delay”.
The Vienna-based IAEA says there has been no progress
and no engagement by Iran since then.
Rather than pass a new resolution at this week's board
meeting, the four countries behind June's resolution - the US, Britain, France
and Germany - have prepared a joint statement reaffirming support for that
text, hoping that many other countries will also sign onto it.
“We call upon Iran to act immediately to fulfil its
legal obligations and, without delay, take up the (IAEA) Director General's
offer of further engagement to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards
issues,” the text seen by Reuters says, referring to the years-long IAEA
investigation.
A resolution passed by the Board of Governors carries
the weight of a formal decision by the IAEA's top policy-making body that meets
more than once a year. Countries banding together to issue a statement without
submitting and passing a resolution are merely expressing an opinion.
The issue of the unexplained uranium particles has
become an obstacle in wider talks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world
powers since Tehran is now seeking a closure of the IAEA's investigation as
part of those negotiations, Western powers say.
This has jeopardised the talks to revive the now badly
eroded deal that restricted Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for relief
from Western sanctions, the three European powers said on Saturday, venting
their frustration.
A French diplomatic source said Paris and its partners
were consulting to see how to respond to the current deadlock and prepare the
next IAEA board meeting in November.
“Today there are no active negotiations,” the diplomat
said, adding that Western powers had still not given up on finding a diplomatic
solution.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Southeast
Asia
China promoting Taliban 2.0 for better business deals
in Afghanistan
September 13, 2022
China is currently engaged in pampering the Taliban,
which finds itself in a state of diplomatic isolation. Its focus is on business
with hopes of a better deal.
It is towards this end that China is walking the extra
mile to offer a helping hand to the Taliban regime firstly in the matter of
travel ban exemptions, and secondly, in grappling with its economic and humanitarian
crisis, reported Al Arabiya Post. China’s recent efforts to promote and support
the Taliban 2.0 regime indicate that it is getting ready to recognize the
government currently in place in Afghanistan.
On the one hand, it is building a case for international
recognition of the Taliban and for the continuance of the waiver of the travel
ban on Taliban leaders.
On the other hand, it is engaged in what is much more
than business and cultural diplomacy to broaden its footprint in Afghanistan.
The state-run Communist Party of China (CPC) media
has, in recent months, run a concerted campaign to show how the Taliban 2.0
have fairly handled the security situation and taken steps to improve the
economy in Afghanistan, reported Al Arabiya Post.
These media report also highlight the contribution of
China and its companies in bringing prosperity to the country. Business
activity combined with cultural diplomacy suggests that China is getting ready
to recognise Taliban 2.0.
At the forefront of this “Taliban is good” campaign is
the CPC mouthpiece, Global Times (GT), which under editor in Chief Hu Xijin
launched the “wolf warrior” communication strategy.
GT spread the ‘word’ that people across Afghanistan
are saying that the security situation has improved and, violence had declined
since the Taliban seized power. It, however, conceded that “tribal culture”
still holds great sway in the Taliban’s governing style while hastening to add
that their administrative capabilities are “comparatively more advanced.”
Moreover, some media reports indicate that some
progress has been made on Chinese investments and reconstruction projects.
Chinese businessmen like Yu Minghui, who have stayed put after the US-led
NATO’s withdrawal, have reaped benefits. He has four steel processing lines,
reported Al Arabiya Post.
The China Town, a 10- storey building is the hub of
Chinese business activity. An industrial estate is coming up in Kabul suburbs
as the first Sino-Afghan joint venture at a cost of USD 216 million.
Also, there is talk of extending the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor into Afghanistan and beyond. China has exempted 98 per cent
of its Afghan buys from import duties. China Metallurgical Group will soon
start exploration and extraction at the Aynak copper mine. It is the biggest
copper mining project in the country. As of now, China’s economic footprint is
steadily expanding across Afghanistan, reported Al Arabiya Post.
To ensure that it is business as usual in Kabul, China
has chosen to keep quiet on the rights of ordinary women and distanced itself
from the campaign of global human rights activists against the raw deal Afghan
women and school-going girls have been getting.
China is also pushing its cultural diplomacy befitting
its position as the third largest trading partner of Afghanistan after Pakistan
and Iran. It has deputed scholars to help protect Afghanistan’s cultural
heritage.
Source: The Statesman
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Zahid raised racial issues, damaged my reputation,
says Dr M
September 13, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir
Mohamad has claimed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had deliberately
raised racial issues and damaged his reputation as an influential political
figure in the eyes of the world.
In his Sept 8 reply to Zahid’s statement of defence,
Mahathir also said his ancestry did not make him less Malay or non-Malay.
“This was brought up by the defendant (Zahid) only
after I was no longer with Umno, which clearly shows the defendant’s motives
and bad intentions,” Mahathir said.
Mahathir filed a lawsuit against Zahid on July 20 for
allegedly issuing defamatory statements regarding the “Kutty” issue.
The Langkawi MP also claimed that the former deputy
prime minister had malice in mind when he slandered him by calling him
“Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty” without making any inquiry into his background
or ancestry.
Mahathir claimed that the defendant had also failed to
take appropriate and reasonable measures to obtain an explanation from him
before making the slanderous statement.
In his statement of claim, Mahathir said Zahid had
issued a defamatory statement against him during an Umno divisional meeting in
Kelana Jaya on July 30, 2017, and that the statement was reproduced on Astro
Awani’s YouTube channel and several online news portals which could be accessed
by internet users without any restrictions.
He claimed the slanderous statement, with the alleged
original name of “Mahathir son of Iskandar Kutty”, meant he was not born as a
Malay or a Muslim and that he had only claimed to be a Malay when he became
prime minister to gain political and personal advantage. He said it also
belittled Malaysians of Indian Muslim descent.
Meanwhile, Zahid, in his statement of defence filed on
Aug 17, denied that the statement made on July 30, 2017 was malicious and done
to slander and harm the reputation of the plaintiff in the public eye.
The Umno president claimed that the name “Mahathir son
of Iskandar Kutty” referred to an individual based on the information in an old
copy of an identity card. He also said he had no control over any video
publication regarding his statement.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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China’s Xi vows to ‘defend common security’ with
Kazakhstan
September 13, 2022
BEIJING: China’s president Xi Jinping today vowed to
“defend common security” with Kazakhstan, state media reported, as he prepares
to travel to Central Asia this week.
Xi’s state visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from
Wednesday to Friday will be his first trip abroad since the early days of the
coronavirus pandemic.
He will attend a leaders’ summit of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, a stop on the
ancient Silk Road.
The SCO is made up of China, Russia, India, Pakistan
and four Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and
Tajikistan.
“China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to deepen
cooperation in law enforcement, security and defence,” Xi wrote in an article
for Kazakh media that was republished by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
He added that Beijing also wanted to work with
Kazakhstan to combat drug trafficking and transnational organised crime as well
as what China calls the “three evils”.
China’s government has previously used the term “three
evils” – defined as terrorism, separatism and religious extremism – to refer to
its crackdown in its far western region of Xinjiang, which borders Kazakhstan.
Beijing stands accused of detaining over one million
Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang – including some Kazakhs –
under a years-long security campaign that the US and some lawmakers in other
Western countries have labelled a “genocide”.
China vociferously denies the allegations, saying its
actions are aimed at combating terrorism and juicing development.
In a separate article for Uzbek media, Xi pledged to
“strengthen security cooperation and resolve risks and challenges” and said
Uzbekistan had a “unique role to play in resolving the Afghanistan issue”, CCTV
reported.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Mideast
Hamas says ‘comprehensive resistance’ sole way to
realize Palestinian rights, urges PA to scrap Oslo Accords
13 September 2022
The Gaza-based Hamas resistance movement has called on
the Palestinian Authority (PA) to revoke the so-called Oslo Peace Accords and
end any kind of cooperation with the occupying Israeli regime, stressing that
“comprehensive resistance” is the only way to realize the rights of the
Palestinian people.
Hamas made the call in a Tuesday statement on the 29th
anniversary of the inking the so-called peace agreements in 1993, which marked
the first time the Israeli regime and the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) recognized each other.
The resistance movement said the disgraceful accords
have jeopardized the Palestinian cause, brought about further restrictions for
the Palestinians, and failed to stop Israel’s colonial projects and Judaization
schemes across the occupied territories.
“Twenty-nine years have passed since the signing of
the Oslo Accords, which have put the Palestinians, at home and in the diaspora,
and their cause in a predicament and brought about more restrictions and pain
for them. Thus, the Palestinian cause has been going through difficult stages
while the Israeli occupation’s colonial project on our land was flourishing
with more colonial settlement expansion and Judaization schemes in Jerusalem
[al-Quds] and the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the statement said.
“Moreover, the Oslo Accords have also deepened the
tragedy of our people by forcefully displacing them and targeting our
Palestinian freedom fighters and activists,” it added.
Hamas also censured the West Bank-headquartered PA for
adopting “policies in the path of political compromise and security
coordination” with Israel, which failed to meet the Palestinian people’s
aspirations to enjoy their legitimate rights.
“The Palestinians’ steadfastness, resilience,
sacrifices, and unity behind the comprehensive resistance across the occupied
West Bank and 1948 occupied territories, their defense of Jerusalem [al-Quds],
and the detainees’ fights against the Israeli occupation all affirm that
resistance in all its forms is the most appropriate way to liberation, return,
and self-determination,” the statement said.
“The PA’s Security coordination with the Zionist enemy
and the attacks targeting the Palestinian people and activists who defend their
lands and sanctities in the face of the settlement and Judaization schemes, are
crimes against national norms and values,” it added.
Hamas warned the Palestinian Authority against
compromising with the Israeli regime, saying, “We call on the Palestinian
Authority to cancel the Oslo Accords, disengage from its security and economic
subordination, and withdraw recognition of this Zionist entity.”
The resistance movement also called on the entire
Palestinian factions to reform the Palestine Liberation Organization and agree
on a unified strategy of comprehensive resistance to confront the Israeli
occupation and achieve the aspirations of Palestinian people.
“We renew our absolute rejection of whatsoever
agreements that do not recognize the legitimate rights of our people, foremost
among which is their struggle and resistance to defend themselves, their land
and their holy sites, and their right to liberation and return,” Hamas
underlined.
The Oslo Accords were signed in the White House at
that time but named after Norway’s capital city, where the secret back-channel
dialog took place.
In recent weeks, Israel has ramped up attacks on
Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result
of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others
have been arrested.
More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in
Israeli jails. Hundreds have been incarcerated under the practice of
administrative detention, which allows holding Palestinian inmates in Israeli
prisons without trial or charge. Some Palestinian prisoners have even been held
in administrative detention for up to eleven years.
Source: Press TV
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Iranian President: Israeli Presence in Region Threat
to All Nations
2022-September-13
In a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday, President Rayeesi described Israeli presence as a
threat to the entire region, including its hosts.
The Iranian president expressed concerns about the
escalation of tensions in the region and noted, “The Caucasus region is going
through special conditions and unfortunately, peace has not returned to this
region yet.”
He pointed that Iran attaches great importance to the
Caucasus region’s security and stability.
“The signatories of the tripartite ceasefire statement
should adhere to its provisions and refrain from any action to create tension
in the region,” the Iranian president said.
“The historical borders between Iran and Armenia are
considered the basis of prosperity, convergence and security of the region and
Tehran is determined to continue cooperation in all fields for the benefit of
the prosperity and stability of the region," Rayeesi added.
"Iran is following the developments in the
Caucasus region closely," the president countinued, and emphasized that
the region cannot bear another war.
Pashinian, for his part, provided the Iranian
president a report on the recent developments in the Caucasus region and said,
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always played a constructive and influential
role in resolving tensions and crises in the region”.
The prime minister also expressed satisfaction with
the expanding relations between Tehran and Yerevan, adding that Armenia seeks
to deepen relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in all fields.
Tehran describes Israel as the root cause of the
region’s instability and insecurity, but also stresses Israel's US-supported
barbarity will not change the inevitable fate of the Tel Aviv regime.
Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined the
necessity for the settlement of the crises and problems in the region through
collective cooperation among the regional states, and underscored that the
presence of foreigners is harmful.
Iran has also urged the neighboring countries to be
extremely vigilant about any US-Israeli plan that clearly aims to disturb the
stability and order of the region.
President Rayeesi Reiterates Iran's Opposition to
Geopolitical Changes in Regionhttps://t.co/g2oowzlzIt
pic.twitter.com/E6zcPZqecw
— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 11, 2022
Armenia and Azerbaijan have reported new border
clashes that left an unknown number of troops dead. The fighting, which broke
out early on Tuesday, marks the latest flare-up between the arch foes, who
fought a war in 2020 over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. Each side
blamed the other for the fighting.
The neighbours have fought two wars over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Armenian-populated enclave in Azerbaijan.
Conflict first broke out in the late 1980s, when both
sides were under Soviet rule and Armenian forces captured swathes of territory
near Nagorno-Karabakh — long recognised internationally as Azerbaijan’s
territory, but with a large Armenian population. About 30,000 people died in
the ensuing conflict.
Azerbaijan regained those territories in the 2020
fighting, which ended with a Russian-brokered truce and thousands of residents
returning to homes from which they had fled. More than 6,500 people lost their
lives in the six-week war.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Families
of Iranian Terror Victims Protest at Albania for Sheltering Terrorists
2022-September-13
The
letter, addressing the Albanian nation, referred to what it called a secret
deal between the United States and Albania almost ten years ago when the latter
accepted to receive the MKO members in return for $20 million.
The
letter added that Albania accepted to host more than 2,000 members of the
terror group after they were expelled from Iraq and at a time when other
countries, including the United States itself, refused to do so.
The
letter also criticized Albania for violating its commitment to not allow the
MKO to take anti-Iran measures while on Albanian soil, saying that the country
has unfortunately turned into a hub for interference by the terror group and
countries hostile to Iran.
The
letter slammed Albanian officials, from parliamentarians to other politicians,
including the president, for their constant meetings with the head of the MKO,
noting that the meetings show that Tirana has put itself among the enemies of
Iran without having a clear understanding of the capability of an Iranian
response.
The
letter then named more than a dozen occasions when Albanian and American
officials visited the MKO camp in Tirana, saying that all these visits prove
that why the Iranian people are of the belief that the Albanian government is
knowingly taking steps in a hostile path against their country and is
cooperating on planning and implementing acts of sabotage against Iran.
Simultaneously
with these meetings, cyberattacks were increased against Iran and the MKO
escalated its sabotage acts and terror activities against different Iranian centers
and locations, the letter added.
It
also referred to Albania’s recent decision to cut diplomatic ties with Iran,
saying that the move was taken under the influence of certain countries, as
well as the MKO terror group.
The
letter noted that the Albanian government is rapidly turning the country into a
center creating crises for security in Europe, the Balkans and Iran, adding
that the Albanian authorities seem to have forgotten that they are backing a
terror group that has taken responsibility for killing more than 12,000 Iranian
people and officials.
The
letter rejected claims by the Albanian authorities that their country is
hosting “the Iranian opposition” members, calling the claim an attempt to
deceive the public opinion to justify the hosting of a terrorist group.
The
Albanians are hospitable, but hosting a terrorist organization is not
hospitability, the letter said, adding that it is a deception to accept a group
which had been refused in other parts of the world due to security threats and
legal consequences it posed.
The
letter at the end called on the Albanian people to be aware of the threats and
repercussions caused by the presence of the MKO terror group in their country,
stating that all terrorists should be contained and brought to justice in order
that sustainable peace and security are established in the world.
Iran
calls terrorism and extremism as result of the inefficiency of the current
international situation, and stresses it wants a world free from violence and
extremism. Iranian officials say Tehran has lost more people than any other
country in the fight against terrorism. Iran has been the target of terrorist
attacks in the past few decades and thousands of its citizens have been
martyred by the terrorist groups.
After
the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the MKO terrorist group began its enmity
against Iran by killing thousands of Iranians and terrorist activities. Several
members of the terrorist group and its leaders are living in European countries
now, freely conducting terrorist activities.
The
MKO terrorist group has martyred 17,161 Iranian citizens and officials,
including late president Mohammad Ali Rajayee, former Prime Minister Mohammad
Javad Bahonar, late Head of Supreme Judicial Council Ayatollah Mohammad
Beheshti, late Deputy Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff Ali
Sayyad Shirazi, and 27 legislators, as well as four nuclear scientists, some on
itself and some others through collusion with Israeli Mossad and other
notorious spy agencies like CIA.
The
MKO terrorist group has publicly specified targets as martyred Lieutenant
General Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force of the Islamic
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi.
The
terrorist organization said it would “welcome” their assassination, adding that
it desired for the ranking officials to “join” Asadollah Lajevardi, Tehran’s
former chief prosecutor, and Ali Sayyad-Shirazi, a former commander of the
Iranian Army’s Ground Forces during Iraq’s 1980-88 war against Iran, who have
both been assassinated by the terror outfit.
The
MKO is currently based in Albania, where it enjoys freedom of activity after
being delisted by the European Union and the United States in 2009 and 2012,
respectively.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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Iran
Thanks Tunisia for Opposing Israeli Regime's Observer Status in African Union
2022-September-13
Amir
Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with outgoing Tunisian Ambassador to
Iran Samir Al Mansar.
The
Iranian foreign minister thanked the Tunisian government and nation for their
positive and constructive stances in line with supporting Palestinians and
opposing the Tel Aviv regime's membership as an observer member in the African
Union.
Amir
Abdollahian, meantime, hailed Iran-Tunisia relations by saying that there are
no limits for broadening cooperation between the two countries.
Referring
to the current developments in Tunisia, the Iranian foreign minister expressed
confidence that with the Tunisian officials' wisdom and with the unity of the
Tunisian government and nation, Tunisia will prosper in all fields.
In
a relevant development last month, Iran blasted the international community for
keeping mum on Israeli aggressions against Palestinian people, and urged the
Western countries to support the Palestinian nation's rights instead of denying
realities about the Zionist regime's crimes.
“In
line with what has been stipulated in many official documents… and countless
reports by human rights institutions, the Zionist regime is an apartheid
regime, which is culpable for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against
humanity,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani wrote on his Twitter.
He
advised the Western governments to stop denying “objective facts” regarding the
Israeli regime’s apartheid character and instead start backing the Palestinian
nation’s human rights.
Numerous
human rights organizations have condemned the Israeli regime for its practicing
apartheid by systematically oppressing the Palestinians via military occupation
and racist laws.
Leading
human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International,
have equated Israeli policies against Palestinians to apartheid.
Iran
has repeatedly stressed the international community should force Israel to
account for human rights violations and crimes against Palestinians. Tehran
stated that Washington-supported barbarity will not change the inevitable fate
of the Tel Aviv regime.
Israel
unleashed a wave of air raids on the Gaza Strip during the last week.
Forty-nine Palestinians, including 17 children and two Islamic Jihad
commanders, were martyred in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of Palestinians were also wounded.
United
Nations Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet has sounded the alarm about the
high number of Palestinians, including children, killed and injured by Israel
in 2022.
Almost
40 Palestinian children have been killed so far this year in the occupied territories
and in many incidents, Israeli forces appear to use lethal force in a manner
that violates international human rights law, Bachelet said.
The
toll of civilian casualties in the Israeli attack on Gaza “was heavy”, the UN
rights chief added.
Iran's
Deputy FM: Pedicide Shows Israeli Dread of New Palestinian
Generationhttps://t.co/B8IyuPp2gk pic.twitter.com/8VnS12iXcV
—
Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) August 14, 2022
Iran
describes Israel as the root cause of instability in the region, but says the
regime's US-supported barbarity will not change the inevitable fate of the Tel
Aviv regime.
Iranian
President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi strongly condemned the new crime committed by
Tel Aviv in the Gaza Strip, and noted the Israeli regime is on a fast-track
towards decline because of the resistance of the Palestinian people in the
besieged enclave.
"Through
its crime last night, the Zionist regime once more showed its occupationist and
aggressive nature to the world," President Rayeesi stated on Saturday.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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Two
Palestinian gunmen and Israeli army officer killed in West Bank clash
14
September, 2022
Israeli
troops shot dead two Palestinian gunmen on Wednesday in a clash near the
boundary with the occupied West Bank in which an army officer was also killed,
a military spokesman said.
The
West Bank, among territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen a
surge of violence in recent months as Israel has intensified raids following a
spate of lethal Palestinian street attacks in its cities.
Before
dawn on Wednesday, the military spokesman said, troops intercepted two men
spotted approaching an Israeli barrier along the West Bank boundary near Jenin,
a Palestinian town that has seen near-nightly friction between the sides.
The
men opened fire, killing an army officer, and were shot dead by the other
troops, the military said.
The
Jenin Brigade, a coalition of armed Palestinian factions, claimed the two dead
gunmen as its members and confirmed they had killed an Israeli army officer.
US-sponsored
Palestinian statehood talks with Israel stalled in 2014. Since then, the
Palestinian Authority (PA), created under interim peace accords to wield
limited self-government in the West Bank, has seen its domestic credibility
wane.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Iran
schools call for Israel’s ‘eradication,’ consider US ‘satanic enemy’: Study
13 September,
2022
Iran’s
education system calls for the “eradication” of Israel, considers the US a
“satanic enemy,” and depicts foreigners as “irredeemable,” according to a
recent study of Iranian textbooks and school curricula.
The
study by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School
Education (IMPACT-se), published last month, found that the Iranian curricula
call for a “total war against Israel until it is completely eradicated.”
“The
existence of Israel blocks Iranian efforts to hegemonize the region. Israel’s
destruction is presented both as an ideal, and as a realistic goal. The
destruction of Israel is portrayed as a step toward the salvation of the
world,” according to the report, which analysed over 100 textbooks from the
2021-2022 academic year.
Iranian
textbooks described the US as “Satanic, an enemy of the Prophets, and the
Quran,” the report found.
Students
are taught to distrust “foreigners” and the curriculum is “rife with
anti-‘foreigner’ rhetoric,” according to the report.
“There
is a through-thread in Iranian textbooks that instils in students a sense of
paranoia when it comes to “foreigners” … The curriculum is rife with
anti-“foreigner” rhetoric. Students are assigned an exercise in which they must
strategize ways to counter the foreigner’s plans to overthrow Islam.”
Iran’s
1979 Islamic Revolution is “taught as a model for all countries,” and “Arab
governments are portrayed as illegitimate,” the report said.
One
textbook – “History of Contemporary Iran,” Grade 11 – included praise for the
Muslim Brotherhood and its founder Hassan al-Banna, the report found.
The
textbook described al-Banna as one of the top “theorists of the new era and the
current wave of Islamic Awakening,” along with Iran’s former Supreme Leader
Ruhollah Khomeini.
Al-Banna
“rejected Western civilization and acted within the framework of Islamic
principles and reviving the Quran and the Sunnah. The Muslim Brotherhood is
undoubtedly the most original intellectual movement in the Islamic Awakening of
the Sunnis in the current era,” page 251 of the textbook reads.
The
report also found that a “core racial nationalistic-Iranian identity is
fostered within the curriculum.”
“Iranians
are portrayed as having Aryan roots. Nazi atrocities are often downplayed,
while their achievements are praised,” the report said.
The
Holocaust was ignored, according to the report.
“The
Iranian curriculum does not include teaching in any language other than
Persian, regardless of the fact that around half of the populations’
mother-tongue is not Persian,” the report said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
93
years added to life sentence for 2014 ‘jihad-inspired’ murders including two
gay men killer met on Capitol Hill
September
13, 2022
Ali
Brown will serve for his 2014 killings including two men he met on Capitol Hill
he lured with a dating app and murdered because they were gay.
Brown,
already facing life in prison for shooting a man to death in New Jersey in the
weeks after the slayings here, was sentenced Friday in King County court to 93
years for the killing of a man in Skyway and the murder of the two men he met
on a night out on Capitol Hill.
Prosecutors
say Brown was “jihad-inspired” when he murdered 23-year-old Dwone
Anderson-Young and and 27-year-old Ahmed Said in the June 1st, 2014 slayings.
The
two were shot to death early on a Sunday morning after a late spring night on
Capitol Hill. Their bodies were found in the area of 29th and King near the
home Anderson-Young shared with his mother.
Earlier
that year, 30-year-old Leroy Henderson was walking home from a Skyway store
when he was shot at least six times in the back by Brown according to
prosecutors.
The
violence continued that June. According to police, a friend told detectives
Said and Anderson-Young were meeting up with a third man that night after
partying at R Place but that he had a “bad feeling” about the stranger. The
friend told police that at closing time, he, Said and Anderson-Young left the
club to meet the man. The friend described the person as seeming “out of
place.” Said offered to give the friend who talked to police a ride home but he
said he declined the ride because he was “creeped out” by the man.
Another
friend who met the group at R Place earlier in the night told police Said spent
much of the evening on his phone and that he believed Said was using an app
“like Grindr or Jack’d” — “apps on which gay men meet up with other gay men,”
the police report noted. This friend told police he also saw the stranger with
Said and Anderson-Young that night as they left R Place. That friend identified
the suspect Brown out of a police photo montage and was “100 -percent certain”
he was the same person he saw with the victims outside the club.
Detectives
were also able to retrieve video surveillance from a nearby business showing
Brown, Said, and Anderson-Young together. Police said shell casings at the
murder scene matched a 9 MM Smith and Wesson semiautomatic pistol purchased by
the mother of Brown’s children that she said had gone missing. The two men had
been shot execution style, according to police.
According
to media reports at the time, Brown had also been tangled up in an FBI investigation
into possible terrorist activity a decade prior to the murders.
Prosecutors
and police say Brown admitted killing his victims he met on Capitol Hill that
night because they were gay and because of his extreme religious beliefs.
Source:
Capitol Hill Seattle
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US
says it expects Pakistan to take ‘sustained action’ against all terrorist
groups
September
14, 2022
US
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday that Washington
expected Islamabad to take “sustained action” against all terrorist groups and
that a recently proposed $450 million military sale package for the maintenance
of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet would help serve this purpose.
“Pakistan’s
F-16 programme, it’s an important part of the broader US-Pakistan bilateral
relationship, and this proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet
current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining the F-16 fleet,”
Price said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“This
is a fleet that allows Pakistan to support counterterrorism operations, and we
expect Pakistan will take sustained action against all terrorist groups,” he
added.
Price
made these remarks when asked to share some details about the proposed package,
about which the US government has already notified Congress.
Reiterating
that the Congress had been notified of the proposed sale, Price said: “Pakistan
is an important partner in a number of regards, an important counterterrorism
partner.
“And
as part of our longstanding policy, we provide life cycle maintenance and
sustainment packages for US-origin platforms.”
On
Wednesday last week, an official statement by the US Defence Security
Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification of this possible sale
to Congress.
The
agency clarified that “the proposed sale does not include any new capabilities,
weapons, or munitions”.
The
follow-on support for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet would include participation in F-16
Aircraft Structural Integrity Programme, Electronic Combat International
Security Assistance Programme, International Engine Management Programme,
Engine Component Improvement Programme, and other technical coordination
groups.
The
support would also include aircraft and engine hardware and software
modifications and support; aircraft and engine spare repair/return parts;
accessories and support equipment; classified and unclassified software and
software support; publications, manuals, and technical documentation; precision
measurement, calibration, lab equipment, and technical support services;
studies and surveys; and other related elements of aircraft maintenance and
programme support.
‘US
remains concerned by significant restrictions on media outlets’
During
Tuesday’s briefing, Price was also asked to comment on media freedom in
Pakistan, particularly with regard to restrictions on ARY News in recent days
and the arrest of the channel’s head of news, Ammad Yousuf.
Price
responded by saying: “We continue to be concerned by significant restrictions
on media outlets and civil society in Pakistan.
“I
know that your outlet, ARY, has not been immune to this constricted space. We
routinely raise our concerns about press freedom to all stakeholders around the
world, including to our partners and our counterparts in Pakistan,” he said.
Price
added that the US was concerned that media and content restrictions, as well as
a lack of accountability for attacks against journalists, undermined the
exercise of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
“A
free press and informed citizenry, we believe, are key to democratic societies
around the world, key to our democratic future. That applies equally to Pakistan
as it does to other countries around the world”.
Flood
relief assistance
When
asked about assistance for flood relief, Price said the US was “deeply
saddened” by the devastation and loss of life caused by “historic floods” in
Pakistan.
“We
stand with the people of Pakistan at this difficult time,” Price assured, as he
went on to share the details of support provided by the US so far.
He
said as of September 12, a total of nine US Central Command (Centcom) flights
delivered more than half of the 630 metric tons of relief supplies from the
United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Dubai warehouse.
In
total, Centcom would airlift more than 41,000 kitchen sets, 1,500 rolls of
plastic sheeting, tens of thousands of plastic tarps, 8,700 shelter fixing kits
— all in support of USAID’s flood relief, he added.
Price
further said that in this fiscal year alone, “we’ve provided more than $53
million in humanitarian assistance, including urgently needed support for food,
nutrition, multipurpose cash, safe drinking water, nutrition, sanitation and
hygiene, as well as shelter assistance” to Pakistan.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
UN
chief calls for de-escalation between Azerbaijan and Armenia amid renewed
fighting
Betul
Yuruk
13.09.2022
UNITED
NATIONS
United
Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to
de-escalate tensions amid recent fighting which claimed lives on both sides.
"The
Secretary-General is deeply concerned about reports of renewed fighting along
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on
Tuesday.
Guterres
urged both sides to take immediate steps to deescalate tensions, exercise
maximum restraint, and resolve any outstanding issues through dialogue and
within existing formats, Dujarric said.
Azerbaijan
has accused Armenia of "large-scale provocations" in recent days,
saying saboteurs planted mines and Armenian forces carried out “intensive”
firing on Azerbaijani positions.
These
actions by Armenian forces led to the confrontation, the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry said, adding that there were casualties on both sides, including 50
Azerbaijani soldiers.
Relations
between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense
since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as
Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
--------
New
book reveals Trump’s fear of Iran’s revenge for Gen. Soleimani assassination
14
September 2022
Former
US president Donald Trump told his friends before the end of his tenure that he
was afraid Iran would try to kill him in revenge for the assassination of
Iran’s top anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, a new
book reveals.
General
Soleimani was targeted in a US drone strike directly ordered by Trump near the
Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020. The attack also killed the
deputy chief of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
among others.
Five
days later, Iran, which had vowed to avenge Soleimani’s assassination, launched
a barrage of missiles at the US-run Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq’s western
province of Anbar, as well as another airbase in Erbil.
The
Islamic Republic also said the attack, dubbed Operation Martyr Soleimani, was a
“first slap” and that its retaliation was not over.
According
to a new book by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, Trump told several of his
Florida friends in December 2020 that he was afraid Iran would try to
assassinate him, The Guardian reported.
“At
a cocktail party, Trump told several of his Florida friends he was afraid Iran
would try to assassinate him, so he had to go back to Washington where he would
be safer,” said the book, titled The Divider: Trump in the White House
2017-2021, scheduled to be published next week.
Trump
duly returned to Washington, where he swiftly “turned up the heat on Mike
Pence,” his vice-president who he was pressuring to overturn the results of the
election, Baker and Glasser write.
The
two authors also said Trump and his advisers considered new strikes against
Iran but backed off because the end of Trump’s time in power was too near.
Top
Iranian officials have identified a long list of culprits behind the terrorist
attack that killed General Soleimani, saying all of the perpetrators, in
particular Trump who tops the list, will have to pay the price for their
heinous act.
Marking
the second anniversary of Soleimani’s martyrdom, Iranian President Ebrahim
Raeisi said on January 3 that Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo must
stand trial for the “horrible crime.”
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Police
produce ‘missing’ person before IHC; hearing under way
Tahir
Naseer
September
14, 2022
The
Islamabad police on Wednesday recovered Haseeb Hamza, a 27-year-old farmer who
had reportedly gone “missing” in August, and presented him before the Islamabad
High Court (IHC).
The
development comes a day after IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, while hearing a
petition for Hamza’s recovery, instructed the police to present him before the
court by 10am today.
“If
that doesn’t happen, then we will call each and every [officer] and take action
against them,” he had said, adding that the Military Intelligence (MI),
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) all would be made to
appear before the court to give an explanation for the “state’s failure”.
An
hour before the IHC deadline was set to expire today, Islamabad
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Dr Akbar Nasir Khan appeared in the court
along with Hamza.
Justice
Minallah is currently hearing the case.
The
case
In
the petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, petitioner Zulfiqar
Ali said his 27-year-old son Hamza was a farmer and had been working in Layyah.
The
federation of Pakistan through the defence ministry secretary, the MI director
general and the interior ministry have been named the respondents in the case.
On
the midnight of August 22 and 23, around 20 persons — 15 of whom were in black
uniform — raided the petitioner’s house without any search warrant, the plea
said.
During
the search, they apprehended the petitioner’s son, and seized several items,
including five laptops, six cellphones and some documents.
“The
circumstances suggest that the detenu is a victim of state-enforced
disappearance. The petitioner ran from pillar to post for the search of his
son, however, no information [was] received from any corner of state organs,”
the petition said.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710066/police-produce-missing-person-before-ihc-hearing-under-way
--------
No
plans for Shehbaz-Modi meeting on sidelines of SCO summit
Iftikhar
A. Khan
September
14, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has no plans to meet his Indian
counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) being held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 15 and 16.
“No
meeting is envisaged with the Indian prime minister,” Foreign Office spokesman
Asim Iftikhar told Dawn.
An
official, when contacted, said though a brief courtesy meeting between the two
was possible, they would not be holding talks saying none of the two sides have
sought a meeting. The foreign office in a statement, however, confirmed that
Prime Minister Sharif would attend the 22nd annual Meeting of the Council of
Heads of State (CHS) of SCO.
“Besides
attending the summit, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with
other participating leaders on the sidelines of the CHS,” it said.
The
premier will be participating in the CHS meeting on the invitation of President
of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who would chair it. The leaders of SCO
members and observer states as well as the heads of SCO organisations and other
special guests would attend the meeting.
The
CHS is the highest forum of the SCO, which considers and defines strategy,
prospects and priorities of the organisation. At the forthcoming CHS, the SCO
leaders will deliberate on important global and regional issues, including
climate change, food security energy security, and sustainable supply chains.
They would also approve agreements and documents that would chart the future
direction of cooperation among SCO member states.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710019/no-plans-for-shehbaz-modi-meeting
--------
Imran
grilled for ‘U-turn’ on army chief appointment
Ikram
Junaidi | Zulqernain Tahir
September
14, 2022
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:
As he came under intense scrutiny for making the appointment of the new army
chief controversial after a ‘U-turn’ on his earlier stances, former prime
minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said he had not sought an extension for Chief of
Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, as he only proposed the deferment of the
appointment till the general elections.
Mr
Khan, in his interview with Kamran Khan on Dunya News, did not explicitly ask
for an extension for the serving army chief, but a number of media outlets
reported that the proposal floated by the former premier would translate into
an extension in the army chief’s tenure.
“I
have not thought about this issue in detail,” Mr Khan had told the anchorperson
when he asked him about the extension to the incumbent COAS.
“I
never talked about the extension of the army chief’s tenure; I just proposed deferment
of the appointment of the army chief till the new elections,” Mr Khan was
quoted as saying.
The
PTI also issued an official statement which claimed that Mr Khan had said that
both parties in power, i.e. PPP and PML-N, had a history of appointing their
“favourites” and that was the reason he opposed the appointment of the new army
chief by the current government.
Imran
under fire
The
clarification came after Mr Khan received flak from leaders of the PML-N and
PPP, who took exception to his remarks about the army chief’s appointment and
dubbed them as Mr Khan’s another ‘U-turn’ in an attempt to come back to power.
Defence
Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted that Mr Khan was so “desperate” to return to
power that he was linking the appointment of the new chief with fresh
elections. “The incumbent government will take a decision on the appointment of
a new army chief keeping in view the Constitution and the tradition of the
institution. We will not link national decisions with political interests,” Mr
Asif said.
Talking
to DawnNews, Mr Asif said the selection of the new army chief was the
prerogative of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the government’s allies would
be taken into confidence. “Consultations will be made with the institution as
well, as it would forward the names of recommended officers for the new chief.
So far no consultation has been started in this regard,” he added.
PML-N
leader Pervaiz Rashid also took Mr Khan to the task over his remarks about the
appointment of the new chief. “Now neutrals, traitors and Mir Jaffar have
become the apple of his (Imran) eyes and Americans his favourites,” Mr Rashid
said.
‘Another
U-turn’
PPP
leader and former senator Farhatullah Babar, in a series of tweets, lashed out
at the PTI chief and said the “anti-establishment posture” of Mr Khan turned
out to be mere eyewash.
“There
were many, even outside PTI, who hoped that the anti-establishment posture of
@ImranKhanPTI was real … Latest U-turn dashed all hopes; real, vague or vain,”
Mr Babar said.
“Recently
@ImranKhanPTI publicly said that giving extension to the chief in 2019 was his
great blunder. Now he’s demanding an extension for the same chief. Why? Did he
get a whiff of who @CMShehbaz has in mind as next chief?… Imran wanting the
chief’s selection [to be] deferred until after polls means [Imran] pleading for
[army chief’s] extension. Is it a change of heart or what?” he said in his
tweet while opposing the extension.
The
ex-senator wondered whether a change in the former prime minister’s stance meant
Mr Khan was ready “to patch up” with the powers-that-be.
Calling
the PTI chief out for his multiple ‘U-turns’, the PPP leader said first Mr Khan
said that the COAS appointment was not his issue. “Then he said the senior most
general should be made chief. Then, [Nawaz] Sharif and [Asif] Zardari shouldn’t
appoint a chief. Now he’s pleading with Sharif and Zardari to give extension to
Bajwa until after polls,” the PPP leader claimed.
Ex-senator
Afrasiab Khattak tweeted: “The extreme politicisation of the COAS appointment
epitomises the distortions/deviations brought in [the] governance system by
usurpers/putschists to the detriment of the state system, including the
military.”
‘Practical
formula’
Meanwhile,
PTI leaders came to the defence of their party chief. PTI stalwart Fawad
Chaudhry termed Mr Khan’s proposal to withhold the appointment till elections a
“practical formula” to restore democracy and save the political future of the
country. “The current status quo of the establishment should be maintained to
call fresh elections,” Mr Chaudhry demanded.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710033/imran-grilled-for-u-turn-on-army-chief-appointment
--------
PTI
moves SC against ‘phase wise’ acceptance of resignations
September
14, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The legal wrangling which began after National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz
Ashraf accepted the resignations of 11 PTI members in July took a new turn on
Tuesday as the party approached the Supreme Court against the high court’s
decision.
The
party moved a petition challenging the Sept 6 order of the Islamabad High Court
(IHC) to dismiss the PTI’s plea against the phase-wise acceptance of their
lawmakers’ resignations.
All
PTI lawmakers had resigned en masse on April 11, two days after former prime
minister Imran Khan was ousted from the top office.
In
the latest petition, moved through counsel Faisal Fareed, the party has
requested the apex court to set aside the high court’s order.
The
speaker, the ECP, the federation through cabinet secretary and all 123
lawmakers have been named as respondents in the petition.
The
petition argued that after the change of the government allegedly orchestrated
as a consequence of foreign conspiracy and intervention, the PTI’s leadership
took a policy decision to protest against it.
“To
seek a fresh mandate from the people, the party decided to get all its elected
members resigned en-bloc from the National Assembly.”
The
decision was made in the parliamentary party meeting on April 11, chaired by
PTI Chairman Imran Khan, it added.
The
petition pleaded that Mr Ashraf has no authority to ‘sit over’ the accepted
resignations.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1710021/pti-moves-sc-against-phase-wise-acceptance-of-resignations
--------
Three
soldiers martyred in exchange of fire with terrorists across Pak-Afghan border:
ISPR
September
13, 2022
RAWALPINDI:
Three Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists
across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district
on Tuesday, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement.
According
to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), terrorists inside Afghanistan
opened fire on Pakistani troops in the general area of Kharlachi. Pakistan Army
troops responded in a “befitting manner”, it said.
During
the exchange of fire, three soldiers identified as 32-year-old Naik Muhammad
Rehman, 34-year-old Naik Maweez Khan, and 27-year-old Sepoy Irfan Ullah, having
fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom, the ISPR statement said.
“As
per credible intelligence reports, due to fire of own troops, terrorists
suffered heavy casualties.”
The
military’s media wing said it strongly condemned the “use of Afghan soil by
terrorists for activities against Pakistan”, adding that it expected the Afghan
government not to “allow the conduct of such activities in the future”.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Hindu
temple opens door to 200 Muslim flood victims in Balochistan
Sep
12 2022
A
Hindu temple in a small village in Balochistan set an example of interfaith
harmony by opening its doors to at least 200 flood victims, most of them
Muslims, according to a report by Daily Dawn.
Recent
floods in Pakistan have displaced and devasted millions. The catastrophe has
claimed over 1,300 lives. However, the Baba Madhodas Mandir in Jalal Khan
village in the Kachhi district was affected relatively less as it is located on
high ground, hence serving as a sanctuary for flood-affected people.
Locals
reported that Baba Madhodas was a Hindu saint who was loved by Muslims and
Hindus alike before the partition in 1947.
Iltaf
Buzdar, a frequent visitor to the village, said his parents shared stories of
the saint with him. They said that Baba looked at people "through the
prism of humanity" and not their caste or creed.
The
Hindu temple is often visited by Hindu worshippers from all over Balochistan.
While
most people of the Hindu community have left the village to look for jobs and
other opportunities, a few families have stayed behind to take care of the
temple.
The
current in charge, Rattan Kumar, 55, said that the temple had more than 100
rooms to accommodate pilgrims who came from all over Balochistan and Sindh
every year.
Kumar's
son reported that a few rooms had been damaged by floodwater but the structure
was mostly safe.
Not
only were humans given refuge but people's livestock including goats and sheep
were also accommodated, the report said.
Those
who were displaced after their homes were washed away in the flood said that
initially they were cut off from the rest of the district and were being
provided food items via helicopters. However, once they entered the temple, the
Hindu community helped them.
Source:
Geo TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
No
Going Back On Rejection of Muslim-Muslim Ticket – Northern Christians
September
14, 2022
By
Amos Tauna
Chairmen
of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and the
FCT, Abuja, on Tuesday, reiterated their rejection of the same faith ticket of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.
They
declared that they would not change their stand against the Muslim-Muslim
presidential ticket.
The
chairmen made their position known during a meeting convened by Yakubu Dogara,
the former Speaker, House of Representatives and Babachir Lawal, the former
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in Abuja.
The
former Speaker, who disclosed this on his Twitter handle, explained that the
meeting with the Christian leaders from the North and the FCT was to decide
2023.
Dogara
stated that the fight for justice continues, adding that they held a
Consultative Meeting with Christian Leaders From the 19 Northern States and the
FCT on the pan-Nigerian platform to adopt in 2023.
Rev.
John Joseph Hayab, the Chairman of CAN in Kaduna State, also confirmed the
meeting to DAILY POST, saying it was well attended in person by all the CAN
chairmen from the North, except Katsina State.
He
explained, “We are saying there is no going back on our stance against the
Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.”
Hayab
stated that they would consult with leading Christian politicians across party
before deciding on the next line of action.
He
added that they would also wait for signals from their (CAN) national body,
stressing that they would point them to the way to go, “but the Muslim-Muslim
ticket is out of the equation.”
He
added that what they had expected from the APC was to explain themselves to
them rather than hiring impostors to impersonate genuine Christian leaders.
DAILY
POST reports that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu settled for
the same faith ticket despite stiff opposition from Christians.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Twin
airstrikes kill 10 people in Ethiopia’s Tigray region: Hospital official
14 September,
2022
Ten
people were killed Wednesday in a second day of airstrikes on Ethiopia’s
Tigray, a hospital official said, in attacks that came shortly after
authorities in the war-torn region expressed readiness for a ceasefire.
Kibrom
Gebreselassie, a senior official at Ayder Referral Hospital, the biggest in
Tigray, told AFP that the “death toll (was) raised to ten,” after two drone
attacks on a residential neighborhood in the regional capital Mekele.
The
attack struck a residential neighborhood in the regional capital Mekele,
“killing and wounding innocent civilians,” tweeted Getachew Reda, spokesman for
the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been fighting Ethiopia’s
government for nearly two years.
AFP
was not able to independently verify the claims. Access to northern Ethiopia is
severely restricted and Tigray has been under a communications blackout for
over a year.
The
reported attack followed a drone strike on Tuesday on Mekele University, which
the TPLF said caused injuries and property damage.
Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has not commented on this week’s reported
bombings.
Tigray
has been hit by several airstrikes since fighting resumed in late August
between government forces and their allies and TPLF rebels in northern Ethiopia.
The
return to combat shattered a March truce and dashed hopes of peacefully
resolving the war, which has killed untold numbers of civilians and triggered a
humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia.
Both
sides have accused the other of firing first, and fighting has spread from
around southern Tigray to other fronts farther north and west, while also
drawing in Eritrean troops who backed Ethiopian forces in the early phase of
the war.
On
Sunday, the TPLF said it was ready for a ceasefire and would accept a peace
process led by the African Union, removing an obstacle to negotiations with
Abiy’s government.
The
international community has urged the warring sides to seize the moment for
peace.
Addis
Ababa is still yet to officially comment on the overture by Tigrayan
authorities, which dominated national politics for nearly three decades until
Abiy came to power in 2018.
Abiy’s
government has declared the TPLF a terrorist group, and considers its claim to
authority in Tigray illegitimate.
Untold
numbers of civilians have been killed since the war erupted in Africa’s second
most populous country, and grave rights violations by all sides against
civilians have been documented.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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More
than half a million children face malnutrition in Somalia: UN agency
Hassan
Isilow
13.09.2022
More
than half a million young children are expected to suffer severe acute
malnutrition in Somalia, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, as
the country faces a looming famine.
“Today
we are faced with 513,000 children at risk of death. it’s a number, a pending
nightmare, we have not seen this century,” UNICEF said in a statement.
Somalia
is witnessing one of the worst droughts in the country's recent history that
has already claimed several lives and displaced over 1 million people.
Last
week, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths announced that famine was knocking
on the door in Somalia.
Addressing
a news conference in the capital Mogadishu, Griffiths said 213,000 people are
living in “famine-like conditions” in the Horn of Africa country.
Last
week, UNICEF announced that 730 children have died in nutrition centers across
Somalia this year.
"As
we heard last week, children are already dying. Our partners report that some
stabilization centers are full, and thus critically ill children are having to
receive treatment on the floor,” UNICEF said on Tuesday.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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