Two Temple Committees In Kerala's Malappuram District Host Mass Iftar Party For Ramadan
New Age Islam News Bureau
14 April 2023
Mass iftar organized at Sree Puthuveppu Manaliyarkavu
Bhagavathi Temple, Othalur, in Malappuram, Kerala.
---
• GCC Security Council, UAE, Saudi FM’s Welcomes
Bahrain-Qatar Diplomatic Ties
• Judiciary Official: 90k Prisoners Pardoned Under
Iranian Supreme Leader’s Amnesty Decree
• Pakistan Warns Kabul That It Will Strike Terror
Hideouts Inside Afghanistan
• Muslim Ticket Forced On Nigeria, Boko Haram, ISWAP
State-Sponsored – Biafra Agitator Writes UN
India
• For 48 Years, This Hindu Family In UP Has Kept
Ramadan Tradition Alive
• Telangana: Muslim Man Forced To Chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’
At Dhaba In Toopran
• ‘Shaky, Flawed’: SC Slams Karnataka Order Scrapping Muslim
Quota
• Population Of Muslims Fast Declining vis-a-vis
Hindus: Congress's Digvijaya Singh
• NIA court cites Elgar Parishad accused Navlakha
nexus and complicity with Pakistani intel outfit ISI
• 'Have direct connections with Pakistan's ISI,
Lashkar-e-Taiba': UP Police chargesheet mentions Atiq Ahmed's statement
• Islamic Scholar, AIMPLB President And Nadwa Rector
Maulana Rabe HasaniNadvi Passes Away At 94
--------
Arab World
• Qatar PM Says Original Basis For Syria's Exclusion
From The Arab League Still Stands
• Qatar and Bahrain re-establish relations
• Saudi FM meets senior US officials after call
between Crown Prince, top Biden aide
• Why The Marble Flooring Of Saudi Arabia’s Two Holy
Mosques Remains Cool Even In Summer
• Zakat al-Fitr: The obligatory Eid donation to be
made by the end of Ramadan
• Ramadan Season Revives The Saudi Identity Through
HawiyahHayah Nights
• Al-Sudais: Over 21 million worshipers attend
Prophet’s Mosque during first two-thirds of Ramadan
--------
Mideast
• Resistance Leaders Reiterate Liberation Of Palestine
On Quds Day Eve
• Iran: Power Balance Not in Favor of Israel
• Iran Blames Afghan Drug Trafficking on West-Spawned
Int'l Mafia
• Iran Lashes Out at West for Keeping Mum on Israeli
Crimes Against Palestinians
• Heavy rains in Iran trigger flash floods, killing at
least two
• Countdown to Israel’s ‘collapse’ has begun, Iran’s
military says ahead of Quds Day
• Houthi self-contradiction delays signing of peace
pact
--------
South Asia
• Iran Says Afghanistan’s Current Issues Need Regional
Solution
• Muttaqi Heads to Samarkand to Attend 4th Ministers’
Meeting
• Turkey Deports 138 Undocumented Afghan Migrants
• 2 More Helicopters Repaired, Says Afghan Air Force
• Taliban share rare, months-old audio from supreme
leader Akhundzada
--------
Africa
• Turkey, Egypt say they will cooperate more closely
on Libya
• IMF forecasts slower Middle East, North Africa
growth in 2023
• Tunisia should get some IMF funds before reforms:
Italy
• Sudan’s military warns of conflict after rival force
deploys
• Libya detains second American for preaching
'evangelism'
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Warns Of Strikes On Terrorist Hideouts In Afghanistan
• Political parties urged to work for creation of
Hazara province
• ‘Patience, reciprocity’ needed in dealing with
Kabul: Khar
• Pakistan court grants Imran Khan interim bail till
May 4 in three cases
• PPP names panel to prepare ground for talks with PTI
• UAE gives financial pledge of $1bn to IMF for
Pakistan: Dar
• Two TTP militants shot dead in Lower Dir
• Cash-strapped KP govt won’t pay employees before Eid
• 3 terrorists killed in intelligence-based operation
in Balochistan’sGishkore: ISPR
• Pakistan's government reiterates completion of all
IMF requirements for bailout
--------
Southeast Asia
• Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan Call on US to Shoulder
Responsibility for Afghan Situation, Lift Anti-Kabul Sanctions
• China ‘Concerned’ About Impact Of Afghan Policies On
Women’s Rights
--------
North America
• US Personnel Targeted In Iraq Drone Strike Were On
Mission To Defeat Daesh/ISIS: Pentagon
• US sanctions Turkish companies for ‘helping Russian
war effort’
--------
Europe
• Iran Calls For Intl. Probe Into US-Funded Biological
Laboratories In Ukraine
• Tory Peer Fears Backlash Against British Muslims As
Result Of UK Home Secretary’s ‘Racist Rhetoric’
• Ex-Conservative leader joins calls for UK government
to help former Afghan personnel
• Bosnia And Herzegovina Counts OnSpain's Support For
Its EU Bid: Minister
• Azerbaijan, Bosnia hail 'new era' in bilateral
relations
• EU will not open detention centers for irregular
migrants in Bosnia: Envoy
• Italy, Tunisia agree to counter irregular migration
in Mediterranean
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
Two Temple Committees In Kerala's Malappuram District
Host Mass Iftar Party For Ramadan
14th April 2023
By Vishnuprasad KP
Mass iftar organized at Sree Puthuveppu Manaliyarkavu
Bhagavathi Temple, Othalur, in Malappuram, Kerala.
--------------
MALAPPURAM: Setting an example of communal harmony,
two temple committees in Malappuram organised mass Iftar for Muslims during the
holy month of Ramadan.
Committees of the SreePuthuveppuManaliyarkavu
Bhagavathi temple in Othalur and ChathangaduSreeMaha Vishnu Temple in
Vaniyannur near Tirur hosted the mass Iftar on the premises of the respective
temple grounds on April 7 and March 28, respectively.
Both events saw the mass participation of Muslim
believers. “It was an initiative taken by a group of
youngsters in the area. Our aim is to strengthen the
bond between people from the Hindu and Muslim communities. Religious harmony is
important and we want to celebrate every festival together in a peaceful and
jovial atmosphere,” said Krishnan Pavittapuram, secretary of the
SreePuthuveppuManaliyarkavu Bhagavathi temple.
No space for hatred, says IUML leader
Dijith K, one of the youngsters behind the feast, said
a person from the Muslim community had sponsored the annadanam during the
temple’s annual installation festival, which fell during Ramadan this
year. “We will continue to organise the
mass Iftar in the coming years,” Dijith said.
For the ChathangaduSreeMaha Vishnu Temple, this is the
second Iftar they have hosted.
“Like the previous year, people from the Muslim
community could not attend the annadanam this year as our annual installation
festival fell during the Ramzan month. So, we organised the mass Iftar a day
after the annual festival. We will organise it next year if the date of the
annual installation festival falls during Ramzan month,” said Lakshmanan K K,
temple committee secretary.
Panakkad Rasheed Ali Shihab Thangal, an IUML leader
who attended the Iftar at Vaniyannur, appreciated the temple’s move.
“The temple has set a model for others to follow. All
communities should live in harmony in the country. We should move forward while
respecting and helping each other. There should be no space for hatred in our
hearts,” he said.
Source:New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
GCC Security Council, UAE, Saudi FM’s Welcomes
Bahrain-Qatar Diplomatic Ties
14 April ,2023
Qatar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed
bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid
Al Zayani hold a meeting at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
February 7, 2023. (Reuters)
--------------
The GCC Security Council and the foreign ministries of
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have welcomed the resumption of
diplomatic ties between Bahrain and Qatar.
The two GCC states announced Wednesday they will
resume their diplomatic relations, in statements carried by both Bahrain news
agency (BNA) and the Qatari foreign ministry.
The move comes over two years after an Arab boycott of
Qatar was lifted.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt in January
2021 ended a three-and-a-half year embargo of Qatar but all but Bahrain
restored travel and trade links in 2021.
On Wednesday, the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee
held its second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in
the Saudi capital where the decision was made, the two countries said in
separate statements.
Saudi Arabia has led efforts to rebuild ties with
Qatar and, along with Egypt, re-established diplomatic relations.
On Friday, the Secretary General of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi welcomed the resumption of
diplomatic ties between Bahrain and the Qatar.
He said it stems from the directives of the leaders of
the GCC countries that were issued at the "Sultan Qaboos and Sheikh Sabah
Summit", which was held in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, in January 2021, Saudi
Press Agency (SPA) reported Friday.
He added that those instructions “embody the GCC
leaders' keenness to secure the future and protect the cohesion of the Council
in line with key attributes of the links connecting the Council member states,
including the bonds of kinship, friendship, brotherhood, history and common
destiny, and unity which are the pillars of the GCC”, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also
welcomed the reestablishment of ties, SPA said.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs applauds this
constructive step, which affirms the robustness of relations among members of
the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and advances joint Gulf action that achieves
the aspirations of the region's states and peoples,” it reported.
The UAE’s state news agency WAM also carried a
statement from Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, who also welcomed the efforts to
establish ties.
He said that it is an important step towards
supporting the efforts to advance joint Gulf action, for a “brighter future for
the GCC countries to achieve prosperity and benefit the two nations in serving
their common interests”, WAM reported.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Judiciary Official: 90k Prisoners Pardoned Under
Iranian Supreme Leader’s Amnesty Decree
2023-April-13
TEHRAN (FNA)- Deputy Head of the Iranian Judiciary
Sadeq Rahimi said that nearly 90,000 prisoners have been pardoned at the order
of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei issued
two month ago.
------------
Rahimi stated on Wednesday that some 90,000 people
have been pardoned following Ayatollah Khamenei's landmark mass amnesty decree
on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in February.
According to reports, a significant number of
prisoners have been released as part of the decree while officials are
continuing to examine the cases of inmates.
Back in early February, Ayatollah Khamenei agreed to
pardon or commute the sentences of thousands of convicts, including large
groups of detainees found guilty of involvement in the recent unrest in Iran.
The prisoners, who were granted clemency, had had
their verdicts issued at courts of common pleas and Islamic Revolution
tribunals, the Judicial Organization of the Armed Forces and the State
Discretionary Punishment Organization.
The convicts to whom the amnesty applies should not be
facing charges of espionage for outsiders, direct links with the foreign
intelligence services, murder or intentional injuries, as well as vandalism or
arson attack on governmental, military and public sites, and also should not be
involved in a suit filed by a private plaintiff.
The clemency, however, does not apply to certain types
of convicts, including those who have been sentenced for their role in the
armed smuggling of narcotics, arms trafficking, kidnapping, acid attacks, rape,
armed robbery, bribery, embezzlement, counterfeit money forgery, money
laundering, disruption of economy, smuggling of alcoholic drinks, and organized
smuggling of commodities.
Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi has stated
that his government had been authorized to use the pardon power to release
university students, cultural, sports and media figures who have been arrested
because of their involvement in the riots.
Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over
the death of MahsaAmini who fainted at a police station in mid-September and
days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned
violent.
An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine
Organization announced that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an
illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
Iranian officials blame Western countries for
orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.
The unrest has claimed the lives of dozens of people
and security forces, while also allowing acts of terror and sabotage across the
country. Iran's Interior Ministry has confirmed the enemy waged a hybrid war
against the country to weaken national solidarity and hinder the country's
progress, stressing that some 200 people lost their lives in the riots sparked
by separatist and terrorist groups.
The US, the UK and the European Union (EU) have
imposed a slew of sanctions against Iranian individuals and legal entities
since the September death in police custody of an Iranian woman. Iran has
returned the adversarial measures and meddlesome statements with sanctions
against European, American and British officials and institutions.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Pakistan Warns Kabul That It Will Strike Terror
Hideouts Inside Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
April 13, 2023
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. Photo/ Screengrab from
Voice of America interview
------------
Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, asked the
de factor rulers in Kabul to crack down on anti-Pakistan militants.
Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, said in an
exclusive interview with the Voice of America on Wednesday that Islamabad has
warned the Taliban that it will strike terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan if
the Taliban fail to root out anti-Pakistani militants in the country.
“If that is not done, at some point we’ll have to …
resort to some measures, which will definitely — wherever [terrorists] are,
their sanctuaries on Afghan soil — we’ll have to hit them,” he said. “We’ll
have to hit them because we cannot tolerate this situation for long,” Asif
said.
Since the takeover of the country’s Taliban-led government,
Pakistan has seen a resurgence in terror attacks by militant groups, including
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reportedly said an ideological ally of the
Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan has raised its concerns about TTP sanctuaries
inside Afghanistan and conducted attacks on several Pakistani provinces,
including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The report shows that 262 terrorist attacks took place
in Pakistan last year, including 14 suicide bombings, which resulted in the
killing of 419 people and more than 734 were wounded.
However, the Taliban repeatedly rejected the
allegations and said they would not allow any group or individual to use
Afghanistan soil against neighbouring countries, including Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Asif said he hopes the security threat to
his country will not escalate to a point where “we have to do something which
will be not to the liking of our neighbours and our brothers in Kabul.”
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-warns-kabul-that-it-will-strike-terror-hideouts-inside-afghanistan/
--------
Muslim Ticket Forced On Nigeria, Boko Haram, ISWAP
State-Sponsored – Biafra Agitator Writes UN
April 13, 2023
By Wale Odunsi
Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa has stated that “powers
that be” in Nigeria have refused to create a level playground for all citizens.
In a memo dated April 13 to the United Nations General
Assembly, UNGA, Ekpa said forces were trampling upon others and calling the
shots at will.
“They have also violated the principle of secular
state status by allowing (a) Muslim-Muslim ticket”, the letter seen by DAILY
POST reads.
Ekpa stated that the people of Biafra were determined
to exit Nigeria, lamenting how “innocent Biafra youths are rounded up and
jailed without trial”.
He said some are extrajudicially killed, though “no
terrorist Fulani herdsman, Boko Haram, ISWAP, terrorists is in jail because
they are being sponsored by the State”.
Ekpa alleged that terrorists arrested during the
President Goodluck Jonathan administration have been released and “rewarded
with job positions in the Nigerian military”.
The secessionist told the UN that Nnamdi Kanu, leader
of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, was extradited from Kenya to Nigeria
in 2021.
Kanu, accused of treason by the Nigerian government,
has been in the custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, since his
repatriation.
But Ekpa said the court discharged the case, with the
UN working group on arbitrary detention requesting his freedom within six
months.
“The 6 months ultimatum expired in February 2023, yet
the jihadist, terrorist, and democratic-dictatorial government of Buhari and
APC refused to release him.”
Ekpa accused Information Minister Lai Mohammed of
“bribing, censoring, and terrorizing media houses in Nigeria never to report
the atrocities going on”.
He said the Biafra Republic Government in Exile,
BRGIE, wants UNGA to prevail on the authorities to grant an unconditional
release of Kanu and “all Biafrans held captive”.
The former Radio Biafra anchorman equally demands the
conduct of a peaceful democratic referendum “to enable a peaceful and bloodless
exit of Biafra”.
The letter noted Biafra people have demonstrated their
willingness to leave “through various sit at home civil disobedience for the
past two years”.
“The every Monday sit at home civil disobedience has
lasted for two years uninterrupted,” said the Finland-based agitator arrested
in February.
Ekpa further referred to the March 2018 controversial
comment by former Army chief, Lt. Gen. T. Y. Danjuma, who accused the military
of colluding with jihadists.
“The army is in cooperation with these jihadists, the
armed forces are not neutral, hence all should rise and defend yourselves,”
Danjuma said at an event.
Source: DailyPost Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
India
For 48 years, this Hindu family in UP has kept Ramadan
tradition alive
13th April 2023
By Namita Bajpai
LUCKNOW: One
does not need to make a spectacle to express one’s benevolence. However, small
gestures can be enough to create a bonhomie. The case of Gulab Yadav of Kauria
village in Mubarakpur town of Azamgarh district in eastern UP, is not very
different. He is setting an example of mutual respect by serving ‘Rozedaars’
(practioners of fast) in the holy month of Ramzaan in his own novel way.
Like a custodian of the much talked about Ganga-Jamuni
Tehzeeb of Uttar Pradesh, forbearance and comity come naturally to Gulab Yadav
who has been willingly following a 48-year-old tradition set by his father
Chirkit Yadav in the village in 1975.
Gulab, along with his son Abhishek, has been carrying
his father’s legacy with pride — he makes it a point to wake up all the Muslims
residing in his village for ‘Sehri’ (morning refreshment before starting
day-long Roza).
He follows the practise religiously, without a miss,
on all the days of the holy month of Ramzaan. As per Gulab Yadav, he gets out
of his house in the dead of night at around 1 am daily with a baton in one hand
and a lantern in the other and visits the localities where Muslim families
live.
Even the residents of Kauria village claim that it is
not that only a few families of Muslims live there. Over 200 Muslim families
live in the village and Gulab visits every door daily without fail, as his duty
to wake up the Rozedaars (practitioners of fast) for ‘Sehri’ so that they don’t
miss the time.
As per the villagers, Gulab is a labourer working in
other states to make both ends meet. However, he ensures to return to the
village with the advent of the holy month of Ramzaan to serve the Rozedaars.
“Every night, he starts knocking at every door of
Muslim families, calling them by their name and asking them to wake up for
Sehri. He is so particular that Rozedaars don’t have to worry about the Sehri
time,” says a villager Hari Om Yadav. Another adds that the prayers and wishes
which Gulab gets from Muslim families are his biggest earnings.
Yadav, reluctant to come on a call for the interview
as he thinks his gesture is not an extra-ordinary one, believes that the
tradition started by his father brings the two communities closer. They have
been living together for ages in each other’s thick and thin.
Source:New Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Telangana: Muslim man forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’
at Dhaba in Toopran
13th April 2023
Hyderabad: A Muslim man was allegedly attacked and
forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by miscreants in Toopran, Medak district on
Tuesday.
According to reports, the Muslim man had come to drink
tea at a dhaba, at 11:30 pm, where the accused from the Hindu community were
also present.
The Muslim man went to the washroom to relieve himself
when he found himself surrounded by four Hindu men. They allegedly attacked him
and forced him to chant Jai Shri Ram. Terrified, the Muslim man dialled 100 for
help.
Speaking to Siasat.com, the Toopran sub-inspector said
that by the time the patrolling party arrived at the spot, the Hindu men had
left the place.
“The police patrolling party searched the area but
could not find the alleged accused. The Muslim man also refused to file a
complaint. Hence no FIR has been lodged,” the SI said adding the Muslim man
hailed from Kamareddy district and had arrived from Hyderabad.
When asked if an attack took place, the SI replied
negatively. “No assault or attack took place. No one was injured,” the police
officer said.
It may be recalled that a few days ago, three Muslim
fruit vendors were attacked and allegedly forced to drink alcohol in
Patancheruvu in Sangareddy.
“The event was not motivated by hatred, but rather by
a disagreement over fruit costs. According to him, the dispute resulted in a
few individuals attacking the fruit sellers,” Patancheru DSP Bheem Reddy was
quoted by India Today.
Source:Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
‘Shaky, flawed’: SC slams Karnataka order scrapping
Muslim quota
Apr 14, 2023
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday shredded the
Karnataka government's controversial March 27 decision ending 4% Muslim quota
in the state and said the "foundation of the order is shaky" and
appeared to be "based on absolutely fallacious assumptions".
Hearing appeals against the order, a bench of Justices
K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna said, "The order could not have been passed
based on an interim report of the commission. The state could have waited till
a final report."
Sensing that the court was inclined to stay the order,
the Karnataka government gave an undertaking that the decision would not be
implemented till Monday. The matter will be heard next on Tuesday.
Delay in deciding mercy petitions frustrates death
penalty: SC
By the impugned order, the state had shifted Muslims
from the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) to the
economically weaker section (EWS) to end the 4% reservation they had since
2002. The 4% quota so freed was distributed equally among Vokkaliga and
Lingayat communities.
During the course of the hearing in the SC, the bench
said, “On the basis of the documents and materials produced before us, it
appears that Muslims were backward and then suddenly it has changed.”
Retired district judge among 12 picked by SC collegium
for post of HC judge
Senior advocates Dushyant Dave, Kapil Sibal and Gopal
Shankaranarayanan appeared for petitioners from the Muslim community and said
the government had not carried out any study and there was no data available to
justify denying quota to Muslims.
"The Muslim community needs protection from the
Supreme Court," Dave said. He went on to argue that several commissions
had repeatedly categorised Muslims as one of the most backward communities
deserving reservation. The March 27 order, which erased the 4% quota enjoyed by
Muslims for more than two decades, was not based on any in-depth study and was
arbitrary, he said.
"Muslims are being deprived of their
constitutional rights because of their religion. The government thinks Muslims
are dispensable. What was the hurry to pass an order on the eve of elections?
They are being put in the general category to avail EWS quota at a time when
their literacy and employment rates are the lowest compared to other
communities," Dave said.
Sibal, Shankaranarayanan and Ravivarma Kumar supported
Dave and said irreparable damage would be caused if the state's order was not
stayed.
Appearing for the state government, solicitor general
Tushar Mehta said, "Granting reservation on the basis of religion, even if
it was wrongly done earlier, is per se unconstitutional. The Constitution does
not permit reservation on the basis of religion."
The Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities, through senior
advocate Mukul Rohatgi, supported the government and said the court could not
stay the March 27 order without hearing the two communities, which would be
robbed of their additional reservation granted through the new notification.
The bench repeatedly told the SG that if the state
government gave an undertaking not to act on the March 27 order, it would not
order a stay. The SG told the SC that he would not give any statement except
request the court to give time to the state till Monday to file a detailed reply
presenting the correct picture on the impugned decision.
Source:TimesOfIndia
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Population of Muslims fast declining vis-a-vis Hindus:
Congress's Digvijaya Singh
Apr 13, 2023
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday
claimed that contrary to the BJP and the RSS's "false propaganda"
that the population of the Muslim community was increasing in the country, the
number of the minority community members vis-a-vis Hindus was fast declining,
and added that he could prove it.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was quick to
counter him as it accused him of indulging in politics of appeasement and
giving false statements to divide the society.
Singh made the claim here while replying to reporters'
query about his party's stand on conducting a census.
"The propaganda of BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh (RSS) that the Muslim population is increasing in the country is
completely false, wrong and unverified because the minority community's
population is decreasing at a faster pace as compared to Hindus and I can prove
it," Singh said.
"My stand on the census is that it should be
conducted, and its results should come out on the basis of the Other Backward
Classes (OBC). Till now, only the results of the 2011 census are available. The
figures after that are not yet released by them. Census should be
conducted," the former chief minister said.
When asked whether the Congress will include in its
manifesto the demand for conducting a caste-based census, Singh said there was
no need for it as it was as per rules and law.
Asked further about the caste-based census in Bihar,
Singh said, "Census should be held at the national level."
Reacting to Singh's remark on the Muslim population,
state Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang said the Congress leader was
indulging in politics of appeasement and spreading false statements to divide
the society into the lines of caste and religion.
Denying the charge that Congress indulges in vote bank
politics, Digvijaya Singh said that since 1952, the party has worked for the
welfare of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities as
well as deprived sections of the society.
The Rajya Sabha member questioned Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's silence on sensitive matters, especially on people spreading
hatred in the country through their inflammatory statements and acts, and added
that the PM expresses concern even when a player suffers an injury on his
finger.
Terming the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh due
by the year-end and the next year's Lok Sabha polls as crucial for the party,
Singh said that although the main contest is between the Congress and the BJP,
parties like Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen
(AlMIM), Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will also be
in the fray to help the BJP in dividing the Congress's votes.
"But they won't be able to come to power. The
fight is between Congress and BJP," he said.
Replying to a question whether the Congress got
weakened after JyotiradityaScindia, who is currently the Union minister from the
BJP, quit the party, Singh said, "After he left, there is peace and unity
in Congress, while there is unrest and disunity in BJP now."
Singh also criticised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan for launching populist schemes like 'Ladli Behna', and
questioned why the BJP did not remember people of the state when it was in
power for the last more than 18 years and why it is doing so in the election
year.
Source:IndiaToday
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
NIA court cites Elgar Parishad accused Navlakha nexus
and complicity with Pakistani intel outfit ISI
Apr 14, 2023
MUMBAI: In a detailed order rejecting the bail plea of
Elgar Parishad case accused Gautam Navlakha, a special NIA court cited his
nexus and complicity with the Pakistani intelligence outfit ISI, pointing out
he was introduced to an ISI general for recruitment by a man named ‘Ghulam Nabi
Fai’.
The bail plea by Navlakha, who is under house arrest,
was rejected on April 6 and the detailed order copy was made available about a
week later.
Special judge Rajesh J Katariya said the NIA
chargesheet says Navlakha, a lawyer and activist, had visited the US thrice to
address Kashmiri American Council (KAC) conferences organized by Fai. “He was
in touch with Ghulam Nabi Fai via email… and sometimes via phone. Ghulam Nabi
Fai was arrested by the FBI in July 2011 for accepting funds from ISI and the
Pakistan government. Applicant had written a letter to the…judge of the US
court trying Ghulam Fai’s case for clemency,” he said. “It prima facie shows
nexus between applicant and Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai.”
Denying the allegations, the 69-year-old Navlakha’s
lawyers submitted that a document allegedly recovered from co-accused Surendra
Gadling claims Navlakha collaborated with a person of an “intercontinental NGO
funded by the imperialist forces” on Kashmir. The document alleged in 2009,
when the protests in Kashmir were at its peak, Navlakha and the person from the
NGO tried to create rifts among the leadership by using members of the
Coalition of Civil Society. The document added that they went to Srinagar and
met with MasratAlam, who was organising massive youth protests with stone
pelting, when he was in hiding to evade arrest.
They submitted another document allegedly recovered
during investigations that showed Navlakha was against the ideology of CPI
(Maoist) and was criticising it. They pointed out the party had a deep
hostility towards him for his strong criticism of violence perpetrated by them
and suspected him of being an agent of the government.
Referring to these submissions, the judge said:
“Though there appears to be some deviating conduct on part of the applicant as
pointed by advocate…, same cannot grant any benefit to applicant for bail.”
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
'Have direct connections with Pakistan's ISI,
Lashkar-e-Taiba': UP Police chargesheet mentions Atiq Ahmed's statement
Apr 13, 2023
PRAYAGRAJ: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed said
in a statement to Uttar Pradesh Police that he has direct connections with
"Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror outfit
Lashkar-e-Taiba".
Prayagraj Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Thursday
sent Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf to four-day police custody in the Umesh
Pal murder case.
The police custody of the duo started from 5 pm on 13
April till 5 pm on 17 April.
Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were brought to the
CJM Court in Prayagraj on Thursday morning.
The Uttra Pradesh Police chargesheet filed before the
court mentioned a recorded statement of Atiq Ahmed.
"...I have no dearth of weapons because I have
direct connections with Pakistan's ISI and terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Weapons from Pakistan are dropped on the Punjab border with the help of drones
and local connection collects them. Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir get weapons
from this consignment. If you take me with you, I can help you recover that
money, arms and ammunition used in the incident," the chargesheet
mentioned Atiq's statement.
Meanwhile, Atiq Ahmed's son Asad and his aide Ghulam,
both of whom were wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, were killed in an
encounter by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) in Jhansi on Thursday.
Each of them carried a reward of Rs 5 lakhs. The
police said that foreign-made weapons were recovered.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday chaired a
high-level meeting on 'law and order' after the killing of Asad and Ghulam in
an encounter.
CM Yogi also lauded the 12-member STF team involved in
the shootout.
On March 28, Atiq Ahmed was convicted by an MP-MLA court
and sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment in the abduction case of
now-deceased Umesh Pal.
Atiq Ahmed and his family came under the scanner in
the Umesh Pal murder case.Atiq Ahmed, who has over 100 cases against him over
the last 43 years, has been convicted in the same case.
Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested three people from
the national capital for allegedly aiding jailed gangster Atiq Ahmed's son Asad
and planning Umesh Pal's murder. The three arrested people were identified as
Jawed, Khalid and Jeeshan.
During the course of the investigation, Khalid and
Jeeshan disclosed that they had also provided shelter to Asad and Ghulam, who
are wanted accused in the infamous Umesh Pal murder case.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Islamic Scholar, AIMPLB President And Nadwa Rector
Maulana Rabe HasaniNadvi Passes Away At 94
Apr 13, 2023
By Mohd.Rafique
LUCKNOW: Maulana Rabe HasaniNadvi, one of the most
respected Islamic scholars of India, passed away at Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama
— a prominent Islamic seminary in Lucknow — on Thursday after a prolonged
illness.
He was 94. The cleric is survived by his three
daughters.
Maulana Nadvi was the president of All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Rector (chancellor) of Nadwatul Ulama.
As the head of two important organizations — AIMPLB
which represents Muslims in legal and social issues and Nadwatul Ulama which is
instrumental in imparting Islamic education — Nadvi played a significant role
in upholding the rights of the Muslim community in India.
Given his contribution to the community, Maulana Nadvi
was named among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by surveys done
by various organizations.
Born in Rae Bareli, he started his career as a teacher
of Islamic studies at Nadwatul Ulama in Lucknow. In 2000, he was appointed as
the Rector of the institution — the post he held until his death.
Nadvi was the nephew of author-reformer and Nadwatul
Rector Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi, who was popularly known as ‘Ali Miyan’, and proved
to be a worthy successor of his uncle by managing the organization skillfully
after Ali Miyan’s death.
"His death is a big loss to humanity. Having
known him for years, both as a doctor and a social observer, I can say that I
have never seen such a well-read person who was so down to earth. World may
remember him as an Islamic scholar but he was more of a humanist," said Dr
Kauser Usman, professor of medicine at KGMU.
Reminiscing his contribution towards Islamic
education, jurisprudence, and interfaith dialogue, Maulana Khalid Rasheed
Firangi Mahali, chairperson of Islamic Centre of India, said, "As
president of AIMPLB for over two decades, he undertook many reforms for the
community. He was an able educationist and administrator."
"His contribution towards the community is
unparalleled, and it will not be easy to fill the void," Mahali said.
Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawad described him as a
well-respected figure who had contributed immensely to the community.
"Having represented India at many international forums, Maulana Nadvi left
a lasting impression on people with his knowledge and thoughts. Death of such a
great scholar is a great loss to the Muslim world which cannot be
compensated," he added.
"Throughout his life, Maulana RabeyHasaniNadvi
tirelessly advocated for the advancement of Muslim education," said Mazhar
Farooqui, founder of a charitable organization. "He inspired people to
work harder towards the goal of empowering future generations through
education," he said.
Nadvi was also an accomplished author and had written
several books on Islamic theology, including a commentary on the Quran. He also
headed several organisations in India and abroad.
He was the vice-president of Riyadh’s
AalamiRabitaAdab-e-Islami and a founding member of the Muslim World League.
"He was also well travelled and had participated
in several conferences and seminars across the world. His contribution in
promoting understanding and cooperation between different religious communities
is immense," said Mohd Gufran Naseem, member of Youth Sunni Federation.
He was also an active member of All India Muslim
Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella body of Muslim organizations in the country.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab World
Qatar PM says original basis for Syria's exclusion
from the Arab League still stands
13 April ,2023
Talk of Syria returning to the Arab League is
speculation as the reasons for its expulsion still exist, the prime minister of
Qatar said Thursday.
Qatar has been an outspoken critic of Bashar
Al-Assad's government which will be at the center of talks between nine Arab
countries in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Diplomats say that Syria's return to the Arab League
and presence at an expected summit in May will be discussed.
However, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin
Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, who will be at the talks, said nothing has
been proposed.
“It is all speculation about Syria (returning) in the
Arab League, and the decision is up to the Syrian people,” Al-Thani said in a
nationally televised interview.
“Qatar's position is clear that there were reasons to
suspend Syria's membership, and these reasons still exist,” he added.
Syria was suspended from the Arab League in 2011
months after Assad ordered a brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising.
Qatar has supported opposition groups and been a major
aid donor to Syrian refugees.
“The war has stopped, but the Syrian people are still
displaced,” the prime minister said.
“We do not want to impose solutions on the Syrian
people, and there must be a political solution.
“We do not take any step without a political solution,
and each country has its own decision and sovereign right.”
Ministers and top officials from the six Gulf
Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates -- plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan will gather at Saudi
Arabia's request on Friday.
Syria has been diplomatically isolated since the start
of the war, in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Qatar and Bahrain re-establish relations
April 14, 2023
DOHA: Qatar and Bahrain announced late on Wednesday
that they had agreed to end a long-running diplomatic feud and re-establish
relations.
Bahrain in 2017 joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates and Egypt in imposing a diplomatic blockade on Qatar. The countries’
rivalry goes back even further, however, and Bahrain is the last to renew ties.
Agreement on the reconciliation was reached in talks
at the Gulf Cooperation Council headquarters in Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s foreign
ministry said.
The neighbours “decided to restore diplomatic
relations between the two countries according to the principles of the United
Nations charter”, said a foreign ministry statement.
“The two sides affirmed that this step stems from the
mutual desire to develop bilateral relations and enhance Gulf unity and
integration,” it added. Bahrain’s foreign ministry released a similar
statement, the country’s state news agency reported.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747552/qatar-and-bahrain-re-establish-relations
--------
Saudi FM meets senior US officials after call between
Crown Prince, top Biden aide
13 April ,2023
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan held a
meeting with two senior Biden administration officials in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Prince Faisal and US National Security Council
coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk discussed
strategies to further enhance joint coordination between the two countries, as
well as exchanged views on regional and international developments, the Saudi
foreign ministry said in a tweet.
The meeting was attended by Saudi Arabia’s ambassador
to the US, Princess Reema bint Bandar, and US Special Presidential Coordinator
Amos Hochstein, according to photos shared by the ministry.
The meeting comes two days after US National Security
Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
to discuss Yemen and Iran.
The White House said Sullivan “welcomed Saudi Arabia’s
extraordinary efforts to pursue a more comprehensive roadmap for ending the war
(in Yemen) and offered full US support for those efforts.”
Sullivan and Crown Prince Mohammed also discussed
de-escalation in the region, “while underscoring the need to maintain
deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere,” added the White House.
“Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed President Biden’s unwavering
commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
The US has been working with Saudi Arabia and other
partners to find a political solution to the years-long war in Yemen, where the
Iran-backed Houthi militia has been fighting against the internationally
recognized government of Yemen.
Efforts for a permanent ceasefire are underway, and
Saudi and Houthi figures have met in recent days.
The US special envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, left
for the Gulf region on Tuesday, according to a statement from his spokesperson,
who said “Yemen is witnessing an unprecedented opportunity for peace.”
Lenderking “will meet with Yemeni, Saudi, and
international partners to discuss the necessary steps to secure a durable
ceasefire and inclusive, UN-mediated political process,” the statement added.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Why the marble flooring of Saudi Arabia’s Two Holy
Mosques remains cool even in summer
TAREQ AL-THAQAFI
April 13, 2023
MAKKAH: For centuries, the Two Holy Mosques at Makkah
and Madinah have welcomed pilgrims from across the world. To the pleasant surprise
of visitors, the glistening white marble floor that surrounds the Kaaba in
Makkah remains cool beneath their feet, even during the hottest days.
While some have claimed that hidden cold-water pipes
under the floor are responsible for its coolness, the real reason lies in the
mosque’s unique choice of building material.
Marble from Thassos, an eastern Greek island near
Kavala in the Aegean Sea, has one of the rarest characteristics ever found in
the stone. Due to its pure white appearance and high reflection of light,
Thassos marble — sometimes called “snow white” marble — has one of the lowest
heat absorbances of any marble.
The stone has been quarried from the island since
ancient times, and is still used all over Greece today. It has formed the
walls, floors, and statues of some of history’s greatest sites, including the
ancient Macedonian tomb at Amphipolis (the largest ever discovered in Greece)
and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
The stone’s unique properties see its frequent use in
luxury villas and interior decoration, though it does not come cheap.
Individual tiles can range between $250 and $400 per square meter, according to
Indian marble supplier RMS Marble.
For decades, Saudi Arabia has imported the unique
dolomitic marble for exclusive use at the Two Holy Mosques to provide relief
and avoid unsafe surface temperatures, as mosque visitors are required to enter
barefoot.
Undersecretary-general for technical, operational, and
maintenance affairs at the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques,
Eng. Fares Al-Saedi, told Arab News that Thassos marble is characterized by its
extreme coldness, despite intense heat that may reach 50-55 C in the summer
months.
Al-Saedi added that the Kingdom’s leadership decided
to import the self-cooling stone for the construction of wide yards and open
spaces where millions of pilgrims pass annually.
Al-Saedi explained that the General Presidency
supervises marble maintenance work across the area by treating, restoring, and
then polishing the marble or replacing old and unusable tiles.
“Maintenance is carried out 24/7 by over 40 engineers
and technicians … each marble slab is five centimeters thick, and what makes it
stand out is its ability to absorb moisture through its delicate pores during
the night and release that moisture during the day, making it cooler under high
temperatures,” he said.
According to a study published in the international
journal Construction and Building Materials in 2021, the thermophysical
features of the stone both reflect and dissipate solar insolation heat.
The study found that Thassos marble has an uncommonly
high level of high solar reflectance and a high rate of thermal conductivity
relative to limestone, another stone commonly used in Islamic architecture.
Collectively, these properties have proven to be
capable of sustaining cool surface temperatures even during hot summer periods,
and provide an overall reduction in night-time convective shedding of thermal
energy into the overlying atmosphere.
At the same time, the marble adds to the mosques’
artistic ambiance, which provides an exceptionally memorable experience.
Another study carried out by a joint Saudi-Egyptian
team and published in the Arabian Journal of Geosciences in 2018 referred to
the marble as “heat-dissipating smart marble,” attributing its high whiteness
purity to the stone’s dolomite-rich crystal formation.
Writer and heritage researcher Abdullah Al-Batati told
Arab News that the unroofed and paved stone floor of the mataf (the place where
pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba) was slightly curved and filled with pebbles
and stones smaller than the size of a bean before the pavement.
“Omar Ibn Al-Khattab was the first to stone the
Mosque’s floor after the expansion of the mataf in 119 AH (737-738 AD); during
the reign of Al-Walid bin Abdul-Malik, the mataf was covered in marble. In 145
AH (762-763 AD), the old floor was covered in marble in the era of Abu Jaafar
Al-Mansour, and was tiled with marble in the era of Abbasid Caliphate in 284 AH
(896-897 AD),” said Al-Batati.
“In 1003 AH (1594-1595 AD), flint stones were replaced
with alabaster stones, while white bright marble covered the mataf’s floor in
1006 AH (1597-1598 AD) during the reign of Sultan Mohammad Khan. In 1344 AH
(1925-1926 AD).”
He noted that during the reign of King Saud, the old
marble tiles were removed from the old mataf, and the new mataf was leveled and
paved. The two were separated by a dividing line of black marble which was
brought in from several quarries across Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Salma Hawsawi, professor of ancient history at
King Saud University, told Arab News that King Abdulaziz carried out expansions
at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, which lasted until King Khalid’s
reign in the 1970s and 1980s. The latter issued an order to expand the Grand
Mosque in its current form and tile its floor with heat-resistant marble
imported from Greece in 1978.
King Khalid ordered the tiling of Makkah’s Holy Mosque
using heat-resistant white marble to level the site and remove pebble stones so
that the mataf could comfortably accommodate the increasing number of
worshippers and pilgrims.
“The second expansion of the Grand Mosque occurred
between 1985 and 1986 during King Fahd’s reign, who also ordered the tiling of
the courtyard around the Kaaba and the squares surrounding the Grand Mosque
using cold white marble in a circular and lined manner, making it suitable for
prayers,” Hawsawi told Arab News.
In continuation of past expansion projects, King
Salman continued developing the services of the two Holy Mosques, as he ordered
the completion of the third expansion, in addition to developing many projects,
according to Hawsawi.
Hawsawi stated that the marble is imported from
Thassos in the form of large blocks of stone, which are then processed and
manufactured in the Kingdom’s factories by the Binladen Group, a leading
contracting company supervising the construction and development of Makkah’s
mosques.
“Engineers and technicians carry out regular
inspection visits and maintenance works with high proficiency, and marble tiles
that are no longer in good condition and have lost their coolness
characteristics are replaced with new ones. The type of marble is natural, and
neither the Kingdom nor Greece inserts any additives, nor does it have any
impurities.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286491/saudi-arabia
--------
Zakat al-Fitr: The obligatory Eid donation to be made
by the end of Ramadan
13 April ,2023
By the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims are
obligated to pay Zakat al-Fitr, also known as Sadaqat al-Fitr. Zakat al-Fitr is
a small amount of money given to the poor and needy before the Eid al-Fitr
prayer.
The purpose of this donation is to help those in need
celebrate and enjoy the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of the
month of Ramadan.
Zakat a-Fitr is a form of charity distinct from Zakat,
one of the five pillars of Islam. While Zakat is calculated based on a person’s
wealth and is usually paid once a year, Zakat al-Fitr is paid per person and is
a fixed amount determined by Muslim legal scholars.
The amount for Zakat al-Fitr varies depending on the
region and the price of food. In most countries, it is equivalent to the cost
of one meal or one kilogram of rice or wheat. The amount is usually paid on
behalf of every household member, including children and the elderly.
For those living in the UAE and Saudi Arabia the
amount to pay for Zakat al-Fitr is $7. Meanwhile in the US, the amount is $12.
Another type of donation is something called “Fidya.”
This is a set amount a person must pay for every day he or she can’t face due
to illness, old age, etc.
Zakat al-Fitr can be paid in cash or in other ways,
such as food or clothing. It is important to note that Zakat al-Fitr should be
paid before the Eid prayer, and it is not permissible to delay it. This is
because the purpose of Zakat al-Fitr is to help those in need celebrate and
enjoy Eid. Delaying the payment would defeat this purpose.
Zakat al-Fitr goes to the poor and needy, including
widows, orphans, refugees, and people experiencing homelessness. Giving Zakat
al-Fitr to those who live in the same community as the giver is preferable,
strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood among Muslims.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Ramadan Season Revives The Saudi Identity Through
HawiyahHayah Nights
Haifa Alshammari
April 13, 2023
RIYADH: In conjunction with World Art Day on April 15,
the Saudi Ministry of Culture and the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts
organized the HawiyahHayah Nights event for the second time in Riyadh to
introduce traditional crafts during Ramadan.
The event provides workshops and entertaining shows to
explore surrounded by Ramadan decorations and a traditional atmosphere.
TRITA was established two years ago in Riyadh and
began as a program by the ministry to combine culture and heritage, to invite
people to discover some of Saudi Arabia’s more fascinating aspects.
The institute was later separated into an independent
institute offering three programs to teach traditional Saudi artwork, crafts,
and textiles to revive the identity of the Saudi heritage.
HawiyahHayah Nights was a product of the collaboration
between the ministry and the institute, in partnership with the Theater and
Performing Arts Commission.
“I wanted to check the Saudi identity, the Najd
identity, and how they did everything regarding carpets, crafting, and
everything related to the Saudi identity,” said Fouad Hassan, a visitor at the
event.
Moreover, one of the programs offered by TRITA is the
continuous learning program, where students are introduced to various forms of
Art to preserve their identity.
Examples of activities done by the institute include
performed arts and visual arts.
The event included a storytelling session with a
narrator telling popular traditional tales, and a play illustrating a Saudi
traditional game called alqaees. The play was a participation by the Theater
and Performing Arts Commission at the event.
NourahAlshuhail, a student at TRITA, who was also
participating in the event, talked about her experience at the institute and
what led her to join the event. “I joined the institute because I love arts. I
am originally an artist, I draw,” she said.
“I registered for the embroidery program, in drawing
by embroidery, in a two-week session. Then, it was very joyful for me. So, I
continued learning with the institute since,” she added.
The event included multiple forms of Saudi Arabian
traditional arts, including performed arts, embroidery, woodcraft, wicker
crafts, Al-sadu, and Najdimaqtaa.
Al-sadu is a traditional woven textile used for tents
that were known to be made by Bedouins in the past. The Nadji maqtaa is a
traditional garment women used to wear in the central Najd region in Saudi
Arabia.
The event also offered two types of metalwork
workshops, metal accessories and metal coffee pots.
Aline Fleihab, a consultant by profession and a
visitor to the event, said: “I frequently come to the diplomatic quarter, and
today I knew about the event, so I came to check it out because I am interested
in Saudi culture.”
“It’s very nice how they are engaging people and
reviving the culture. It’s great,” she added.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286406/saudi-arabia
--------
Al-Sudais: Over 21 million worshipers attend Prophet’s
Mosque during first two-thirds of Ramadan
April 13, 2023
MADINAH: Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of the
General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said that over 21
million worshipers have attended the Prophet’s Mosque during the first
two-thirds of Ramadan, an increase of 49 percent over the same period last
year.
He noted that the total number of worshipers from the
start of the month of Muharram this year has so far reached more than 169
million worshipers.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286401/saudi-arabia
--------
Mideast
Resistance leaders reiterate liberation of Palestine
on Quds Day eve
13 April 2023
The secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah
resistance movement says International Quds Day constitutes the main part of
the struggle for liberation of the occupied Palestinian territories from the
clutches of the apartheid Israeli regime.
Speaking in a televised speech on the eve of
International Quds Day, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stated that the event comprises
the integral component of the Muslim world’s battle to liberate al-Quds and
entire Palestinian lands.
Nasrallah said that the Axis of Resistance is at the
forefront of such a campaign, emphasizing the centrality of al-Quds throughout
the struggle.
“Many developments took place this year both at
international and regional arenas as well as inside the Israeli-occupied lands,
which were in favor of the Axis of Resistance and its battle against the
occupying Israeli regime and the US hegemony,” the Hezbollah chief said.
Nasrallah highlighted that the world is moving towards
the formation of a multi-polar system that will end the uni-polar hegemony of
the United States.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Nasrallah also appreciated
recent China-brokered reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, stating
that Tehran-Riyadh rapprochement thwarted potential conspiracies, reflected
desire for clam and underscored the need for dialogue in order to resolve
current discords.
The Hezbollah leader stated that the latest regional
developments foiled divisive plots which would harm the Muslim world and serve
the best interests of the Israeli regime, noting that restoration of Syria’s
natural role in the Arab world would negatively affect Israel’s normalization
process and its attempts to form an alliance with certain Arab states against
the Axis of Resistance.
Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah has gloriously and
proudly emerged triumphant over problems in the past years, describing the
extent of internal crises that the Zionist regime is currently facing as
unprecedented since 1948.
He went on to note that Palestinians in the West Bank
are at the forefront of defending Islamic and Christian sanctities, emphasizing
that special emphasis must be laid on providing generous support to resistance
fighters in the occupied territory.
Moreover, the leader of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad
resistance movement said, “International Quds Day summarizes history and
geography, and is an occasion when the Muslim Ummah displays its absolute
certainty of the liberation of Palestine, al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ziad al-Nakhalah expressed serious concern over the
persistent oppression and bloodshed in al-Quds and the al-Aqsa Mosque compound,
arguing that Zionist occupiers are constantly trampling on the sanctities of
the Palestinian nation.
Nakhalah then called on Arab and Muslim nations to
broaden their understanding of the status quo in the Palestinian territories,
and join resistance groups in the fight against the usurping Israeli regime.
Houthi: Zionist enemy moving towards destruction,
certain collapse
Additionally, the leader of Yemen's Ansarullah
resistance movement called for concerted efforts to expel Zionists from the
occupied Palestinian lands, terming severance of diplomatic relations and struggle
against the occupying Israeli regime as a religious and humanitarian duty.
“Imam Khomeini designated the last Friday of the holy
month of Ramadan as International Quds Day in order to keep the issue of
Palestine alive in the hearts and minds of all Muslims,” Abdul-Malik al-Houthi
said in a televised speech broadcast live from the Yemeni capital city of
Sana’a on Thursday evening.
Houthi stated that the Yemeni nation has not retreated
from its position to support the Palestinian nation, saying, “Our nation is
trying to fulfill its religious duty and participate with Muslim freedom
fighters in the decisive war against the Zionist enemy.”
He stated that the battle against the Israeli regime
and US hegemony forms the cornerstone of Islamic teachings, noting that the
fight against Zionism is an important factor in the rise of the Muslim world.
The leader of Ansarullah stated that the Zionists are
afraid of the uprising of Muslim nations and their mobilization.
Houthi pointed out that the spirit of resistance
within the Palestinian nation and the steadfastness of Muslim nations have
started the countdown to the collapse of the Zionist regime,.
He emphasized that the Zionist enemy is moving towards
destruction and inescapable downfall.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran: Power Balance Not in Favor of Israel
2023-April-13
"The balance of power has changed into the
interests of the Palestinian nation; and the coherence in the Resistance front
is felt today much more than any other time," Kana'ani wrote in Persian on
his Twitter account on Thursday.
Such a coherence is souvenir of the Lieutenant General
Qassem Soleimani, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force
commander who was martyred by the US in Iraq in January 2020, the spokesman
added
Undoubtedly, the photos shared below carry different
messages to the Zionist regime and the Palestinian nation, the senior official
continued.
Since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the
Israeli regime has imposed strict restrictions on the entry and exit of
Palestinians to and from the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Amid heightened tensions
with Palestinian worshipers, Israeli settlers also press ahead with their
frequent incursions and provocative rituals at the holy site.
Israeli troops stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied
East Jerusalem on successive days last week, firing tear gas and stun grenades
and preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque for dawn
prayers. Israeli troops also beat worshipers with batons and riot guns,
wounding many, before arresting hundreds.
Dozens of rockets have been launched from Southern
Lebanon into the Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation for Tel Aviv's
raids.
Last Friday, Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah
resistance movement Sayed Hassan Nasrallah met with a delegation of senior
Hamas officials in Beirut, as tensions simmered across the occupied Palestinian
territories over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Nasrallah issued a warning last Thursday to Israel
over the regime’s escalation at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in the occupied Old
City of Al-Quds.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14020124000358/Iran-Pwer-Balance-N-in-Favr-f-Israel
--------
Iran Blames Afghan Drug Trafficking on West-Spawned
Int'l Mafia
2023-April-13
Amir Abdollahian stated on the sidelines of the
meeting of Afghanistan's neighbors on Thursday that the quartet meeting with
participation of Iran, Pakistan, Russia and China reviewed the concerns about
the situation in Afghanistan.
The minister emphasized the importance of joint
regional cooperation between the four countries and stated that Afghanistan's
neighbors are more concerned about its future than any other actor.
The production and trafficking of drugs in Afghanistan
was not solved during the 20 years of US occupation but also the cultivation
and trafficking of narcotics in the Asian country multiplied, the senior
diplomat stressed.
He added that the Western mafia network is behind the
expansion of this "black trade".
Amirabdollahian expressed concern about terrorism and
extremism and criticized the United States for its wrong policies that have led
to the development of terrorism and insecurity in Afghanistan.
The top official called for more regional cooperation
and solutions instead of intervention from the West, especially the US. He also
highlighted the responsibility of Washington and its allies for the situation
in Afghanistan.
Regarding the economic situation in the neighboring
country, Amir Abdollahian underlined the need for managing it and stated that
economic pressures have led to an increase in the migration of refugees. He
also mentioned that some insecurities have arisen towards neighboring countries
due to these migrations.
The Iranian minister called for regional and
international cooperation with a focus on the interim ruling body of
Afghanistan to address these issues.
He also expressed concern about the educational
deprivation of women and girls in Afghanistan and offered Iran's assistance in
providing education to Afghan girls and women with the help of the United
Nations.
The foreign minister underscored the importance of
encouraging the temporary governing body to fulfill its promise to form an
inclusive government with the participation of all Afghan ethnic groups. In
conclusion, he called for an end to tensions in the common borders with
Afghanistan's neighbors.
For decades, Iran has been fighting a relentless
battle against international drug networks, but the war has cost it the loss of
many lives and finances. Iranian security forces confiscate tons of narcotics
every year in ambush operations against drugs traffickers.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan -
the major supplier of the vast majority of the world’s opium and heroin even
during the 20-year occupation of the county by US-led forces - has claimed the
lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.
The head of the Iranian anti-narcotics police has said
in late June European countries owe Tehran a lot for blocking the transit of
drugs destined for Europe, adding that the country confiscated over 1,200 tons
of illicit narcotics last year.
Majid Karimi, however, slammed Europe for depriving
Tehran of the latest technology to fight drug trafficking in line with
sanctions spearheaded by the US, while they directly benefit from Iran’s
anti-drugs measures.
“If the Islamic Republic of Iran stops the fight
(against drugs) for only a month, the European countries will have to gather
every gram of the huge hauls of drugs from their streets,” he warned.
Iran’s Interior Minister has also criticized the
Western governments for their “poor performance” in the fight against
narcotrafficking.
Ahmad Vahidi stated in late June the main culprits
behind the promotion of drug use are some Western intelligence agencies and
Western politicians.
He noted that the production of industrial drugs is a
lucrative business for the Western countries.
He demanded that Western banks control the financial
operations of narcotrrafickers, saying it’s questionable that financial
institutions in the West turn a blind eye to the issue.
Vahidi underlined Iran is now going it alone in the
fight against narcotics but instead of being thanked, it’s getting accused by
its adversaries under various pretexts.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran Lashes Out at West for Keeping Mum on Israeli
Crimes Against Palestinians
2023-April-13
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday
to mark International Quds Day, the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan
which was named by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic
Republic, more than four decades ago.
“Now, Palestine and holy Quds have turned into the
symbol of unity in the Muslim world and represent the cause of the world’s
right-seeking oppressed and freedom seekers from any race and religion,” it
said.
The ministry criticized the so-called advocates of
human rights who are indeed supporters of the occupying Israeli regime, such as
the US and some European countries, for keeping a shameful silence on crimes
and murders committed by Israel, which has killed about 100 Palestinians,
including women and children, in the first three months of 2023 alone.
It stressed that the Islamic Republic’s “principled
and unchangeable” policy of supporting the liberation struggle and legitimate
resistance of the Palestinian nation and the necessity of effective and
deterrent confrontation with the Israeli regime.
The ministry “asks all the Muslim governments and
nations as well as world’s freedom seekers to become united to confront this
cancerous tumor and disrupter of regional and international stability and
security and to render real support and assistance to the oppressed people of
Palestine".
It once again emphasized the legal obligation of
international organizations and human rights entities to support the
Palestinian people’s rights and terminate Israel’s savage crimes in Al-Quds and
other occupied territories of Palestine and the regime’s aggressions and
role-playing in the region.
The statement pointed to the move by the forces of the
short-lived Zionist regime in recent days to violate the sanctity of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first qibla of Muslims across the globe, and kill
worshipers in this sacred place, adding that such actions once again portrayed
the “vicious face of this apartheid regime before the global public
opinion".
It noted that the Israeli regime continues its crimes,
blatantly violates the primary principles of human rights and desecrates
religious and Muslim sanctities, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque, urging Muslims
“to get united and consolidated once again and support the heroic resistance of
the Palestinian nation with the ultimate objective of liberating all the
occupied territories of Palestine from the sea to the river and forming an
integrated Palestinian establishment with holy Al-Quds as its capital".
As reiterated by Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the ministry said, the main policy of
hegemonic powers and Zionism is to undermine the significance of the
Palestinian issue in the minds of Muslims across the world so that it falls
into oblivion.
Israeli troops stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied
East Jerusalem on successive days last week, firing tear gas and stun grenades
and preventing Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque for dawn
prayers. Israeli troops also beat worshipers with batons and riot guns,
wounding many, before arresting hundreds. Several Muslim countries and
organizations have strongly condemned the latest aggression, calling on
international bodies to stop Israeli crimes and protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque
compound.
Iran 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.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Heavy rains in Iran trigger flash floods, killing at
least two
13 April ,2023
Heavy rains have triggered flash flooding in northern
and western Iran, killing at least two people, Iranian state television
reported Thursday.
According to PirhosseinKoulivand, the head of the
country’s emergency services, one fatality was reported in Qazvin province and
the other in Ilam province in the past 24 hours, the state TV said. Kolivand
also reported a third fatality, in West Azerbaijan province, where a person
died from a lightning strike.
Iran’s meteorological department has warned of the
seasonal rains in many areas across the country, including in the capital of
Tehran.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Countdown to Israel’s ‘collapse’ has begun, Iran’s
military says ahead of Quds Day
13 April ,2023
Israel will cease to exist in the near future as the
country faces an “unprecedented chain of crises,” Iran’s top military body said
on Thursday, ahead of the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day.
In a statement carried by state media, the General
Staff of the Armed Forces, responsible for coordinating between Iran’s
conventional army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said that
“Islamic resistance” from outside and internal protests are “challenging the
nature of the Zionist regime” – the term used by Tehran to refer to Israel –
and that “the countdown to the collapse of Zionism has begun.”
“By God’s grace, there will be no such thing as the
Zionist regime in the not too distant future.”
The statement came ahead of Quds Day, an annual event
that was launched in 1979 by former supreme leader and founder of the Islamic
Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini. It is held on the last Friday of the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan, which falls on April 14 this year.
Marches on Quds Day traditionally feature
demonstrators chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America” and burning the
flags of the two countries.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Houthi self-contradiction delays signing of peace pact
SAEED AL-BATATI
April 13, 2023
AL-MUKALLA: The Iran-backed Houthis have made
additional demands in order to accept Saudi peace mediation, including an
agreement between the militia and Saudi Arabia, dashing expectations of
striking a peace deal to end the war in Yemen before the conclusion of Ramadan.
A Yemeni government official told Arab News that Saudi
Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber delayed his return to Riyadh after the
Houthis rejected Saudi Arabia as a mediator and demanded that the Kingdom
execute a peace agreement with them instead of the group signing the agreement
with the Yemeni government.
The Saudi ambassador rejected this demand.
“Negotiations (in Sanaa) are difficult and complex and require more time,” a
Yemeni government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
Over the weekend, Saudi delegations led by Al-Jaber
and others from Oman arrived in Sanaa to discuss with the Houthis a semi-final
text of a peace agreement, endorsed by Yemen’s internationally recognized
government, to end the war.
The agreement includes a six-month extension of the
UN-brokered truce, inter-Yemeni talks for six months, a two-year transitional
period, the payment of public employees in Houthi-controlled areas, the lifting
of restrictions on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah ports, and the lifting of the
Houthi siege of Taiz.
Houthi sources told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday
that the militia was hesitant to accept Saudi mediation because certain Houthi
religious and political figures perceive Riyadh as a participant in the conflict
rather than a mediator and that a peace deal before the end of Ramadan was
unlikely.
“The talks between the Saudi delegation and the
Houthis did not reach a final result yet to complete an agreement that was
expected to be signed at the end of Ramadan,” the AFP quoted a Houthi source as
saying.
“The Saudis presented their vision of a solution and
wanted to be mediators in resolving the crisis alongside the Omanis, but the
Houthi political and religious leaders insisted that Riyadh be a party to the
agreement and not an intermediary.”
The Yemeni government has long warned that the Houthi
group’s “radical” faction would thwart any efforts to establish peace in Yemen.
A prominent Houthi leader provided a contradictory
statement to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper on Thursday, saying that the
atmosphere of their discussions with the Saudi and Omani delegates was
“positive” and that a peace agreement might be signed “soon, as many points of
contention have been resolved and the movement does not demand a Saudi Arabian
agreement.”
The Houthis’ contradictory statements regarding talks
in Sanaa surfaced as the prisoner exchange between Yemeni parties was postponed
until Friday.
Without elaborating on the reason for the delay, Yahya
Kazman, head of the Yemeni government’s delegation in prisoner exchange
discussions, said the three-day operation would begin on Friday, with over 880
inmates being transported between Yemeni and Saudi airports.
Yemeni sides agreed last month to trade around 880
captives during the holy month of Ramadan. During the second major prisoner
exchange since the start of the war, the Houthis would surrender 181 captives,
including troops from the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, for 706 of
their prisoners held by the Yemeni government.
Meanwhile, Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for
Yemen, who arrived in the area on Tuesday, said Yemen was enjoying a unique
opportunity to reach an agreement to bring an end to the war.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286366/middle-east
--------
South Asia
Iran Says Afghanistan’s Current Issues Need Regional
Solution
By Fidel Rahmati
April 13, 2023
Iranian Foreign Minister on Thursday said
Afghanistan’s current issues need regional cooperation.
Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the remarks during a
quadrilateral meeting with Chinese, Russian, and Pakistani envoys on the
sidelines of the foreign ministers’ meeting among the neighbouring countries of
Afghanistan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, according to the Iranian Foreign
Ministry’s website.
He expressed Iranian concern over the spread of
terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan as well as the persistence of the wrong
U.S. policies there, and he argued that the country now requires regional
cooperation and solutions rather than the United States and Western
intervention that has pushed the Asian country toward poverty and instability.
He stressed that the United States and its allies
should be held to account as the occupiers of Afghanistan that had oppressed
the country for two decades and as UN members to be answerable for the current
situation in the country.
On the other hand, the four countries, China, Russia,
Iran and Pakistan, released a joint statement after the quadrilateral meeting,
urging the Taliban authorities to form an inclusive government with the
participation of all Afghan ethnic groups and lift all the restriction measures
against women and religious groups in the country.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/iran-says-afghanistans-current-issues-need-regional-solution/
--------
Muttaqi Heads to Samarkand to Attend 4th Ministers’
Meeting
By Fidel Rahmati
April 13, 2023
Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister, left
Kabul for Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to attend the fourth meeting of foreign
ministers among the Neighboring Countries of Afghanistan.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad, Deputy Spokesperson of the Foreign
Ministry, tweeted on Thursday that Muttaqi is expected to meet with the Foreign
Ministers of Regional countries on the sidelines of the Samarkand meeting.
On Thursday, the fourth meeting of the foreign
ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries will occur in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan.
In the meeting, Russia, including six neighbouring Afghanistan,
China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, will attend to
discuss Afghanistan and the current regional situation.
An earlier statement said the meeting’s main focus
would be to assist in a political settlement in Afghanistan and stabilize the
country’s socioeconomic and humanitarian crisis.
Wednesday, the spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign
minister responded to a question by saying that China hoped to have an in-depth
discussion about the state of affairs in Afghanistan with the parties present
at the meeting, strengthen the consensus among the neighbouring nations on the
issue, and steadfastly carry out the decisions and agreements reached third
meeting.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/muttaqi-heads-to-samarkand-to-attend-4th-ministers-meeting/
--------
Turkey Deports 138 Undocumented Afghan Migrants
By Fidel Rahmati
April 13, 2023
Turkey Immigration authorities announced on Wednesday
that they had sent 138 undocumented Afghan citizens to Afghanistan.
The Turkish media reported on Wednesday that as part
of the country’s crackdown on illegal immigration, a group of Afghan nationals
were deported to their home country via a chartered flight.
Most Afghans have fled to neighbouring countries like
Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey since the Taliban came back to power, either for
economic reasons or to avoid persecution by the de facto regime.
Most Afghan immigrants entered the country illegally,
and now, after months of waiting and not knowing what would happen, they live
in constant fear of being deported and imprisoned.
Afghan refugees who cannot prove they have legal
status in their destination country face deportation or imprisonment in Iran
and Pakistan. Meanwhile, Pakistan has reportedly locked up hundreds of Afghan
refugees, including women and children.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/turkey-deports-138-undocumented-afghan-migrants/
--------
2 More Helicopters Repaired, Says Afghan Air Force
By Fidel Rahmati
April 13, 2023
The Minister of Defense of Afghanistan (MoD) announced
on Thursday that it had repaired two more aircraft, which are now ready to fly
by the engineering team of the Afghan Air Force.
According to a statement from the National Defense
Ministry, the Air Force’s technical, professional teams and engineers have
successfully repaired two additional Russian M-17 helicopters and one American
Black Hawk chopper.
Mawlavi Abdul Ghafar Mohammadi, the commander of the
Air Force, pledged to repair more aircraft while acknowledging the technical
teams’ and engineers’ work.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense claimed that the
Afghan air force had repaired more than sixty helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft
rendered unusable by technical issues.
Among the sixty repaired aircraft, three transport
aircraft, two An-32s and one An-26, have also been repaired and are now ready
for operation.
Earlier, the US defence ministry said that following
the previous administration’s fall, the former government’s military
transferred 46 helicopters to Uzbekistan and 18 helicopters to Tajikistan.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/2-more-helicopters-repaired-says-afghan-air-force/
--------
Taliban share rare, months-old audio from supreme
leader Akhundzada
April 13, 2023
The Taliban have shared a rare, months-old audio
message from their reclusive supreme leader in which he purportedly says that
Afghanistan would be “ruined" without justice handed out by the country's
new rulers.
The Taliban leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, an Islamic
scholar, almost never appears in public and hardly ever leaves the Taliban
heartland in southern Kandahar province. He surrounds himself with other
religious scholars and allies who oppose education and work for women. Only one
known photo of him, years old, exists.
He was named the Taliban leader in 2016, after a U.S.
airstrike in Pakistan killed his predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour.
Since the Taliban takeover of the country in August
2021, Akhundzada has travelled to Kabul only once, to give a speech to a
gathering of clerics. However, he was not shown in the media at the time and
appeared with his back to the audience.
The audio recording was shared on Twitter by the main
Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, on April 12. In it, a voice that Mujahid
says belongs to Akhundzada declares that justice is an instrument for the
survival of the Taliban government.
The Associated Press has not been able to
independently verify that the voice on the audio message is Akhundzada’s.
“But if there is no justice, and there is oppression,
selfishness, murders and revenge, as well as killings without courts, this
country will be ruined,” says the voice, then adds that this "can be
prevented through the right decision of religious scholars and its proper
implementation by the government.”
According to the spokesman, the recording was from a
speech given five or six months ago to Taliban officials at an unspecified
location. There was no word on why the recording was released at this time.
Pakistan-based journalist Ahmed Rashid, who has
written several books about the Taliban, said the clip addressed none of the
issues facing the Taliban, such as women's rights and the country's deepening
humanitarian crisis.
“There doesn't seem to be a political purpose to this
clip. It's very unusual to hear from him," Rashid said, adding that it's
“irrelevant to the population.”
In January, Mujahid tweeted that Akhundzada met
religious scholars from different provinces. He also tweeted about the leader's
February meeting with commanders and other high-ranking security officials.
Source: TheHindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Turkey, Egypt say they will cooperate more closely on
Libya
13 April ,2023
Ankara and Cairo will cooperate more closely regarding
Libya, where they back opposing sides, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu said on Thursday, marking another step in the rapprochement between
the two regional powers.
Cavusoglu's comments come as the two countries work to
mend ties after being at odds for a decade, having cut diplomatic links
following the overthrow of Egypt's then president and Ankara ally Mohamed
Mursi.
Cavusoglu visited Cairo last month while Egypt's
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry previously came to Turkey to show solidarity
after February's massive earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in
Turkey and Syria.
Among the disputes between the two countries was the
conflict in Libya.
“We will cooperate more closely regarding Libya from
now on. In our meeting today, we (saw) that our views are not essentially very
different but that we think differently on some methods,” Cavusoglu said during
a news conference in Ankara.
The two countries will work on a roadmap to hold
elections in Libya and can work on training and reinforcing a joint military
between forces in the east and west of Libya, he said.
“We share a common desire with Turkey to hold
elections in Libya,” Shoukry said.
Libya has had little peace since the 2011 NATO-backed
ouster of Muammar Gaddafi, and it split in 2014 between rival eastern and
western factions, with the last major battle of the conflict ending in 2020
with a ceasefire.
The political process to resolve the conflict,
however, has been stalled since the collapse of a scheduled election in
December 2021 over disputes about the rules, including the eligibility of major
candidates.
The last major international attempt to break the
deadlock, via a 2020 political forum, led to formation of the current interim
government and the roadmap for the December 2021 election that was thwarted by
internal political disputes.
Cavusoglu and Shoukry also said the two countries
would take steps to re-appoint ambassadors and hold a summit between their
leaders.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
IMF forecasts slower Middle East, North Africa growth
in 2023
13 April ,2023
GDP growth in the Middle East and North Africa region
will slow to 3.1 percent in 2023, from 5.3 percent a year ago, International
Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia department director Jihad
Azour said on Thursday.
Growth among MENA oil exporters will slow to 3.1
percent in 2023 from 5.7 percent in 2022, with the non-hydrocarbon sector
expected to be the main driver of growth, Azour told a news briefing.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Tunisia should get some IMF funds before reforms:
Italy
April 13, 2023
ROME: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said
Thursday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should approve an initial,
unconditional bailout package for Tunisia, with further payments dependent on
reforms.
Tunisia reached a deal in principle in October with
the IMF for nearly $2 billion to shore up its sinking economy but the bailout
still needs approval by the IMF board, which is pressing for reforms, primarily
on the economy.
“Our proposal is to start financing Tunisia through
the Monetary Fund, and deliver, after a first tranche, a second tranche as the
reforms proceed,” Tajani said after a meeting with his Tunisian counterpart,
Nabil Ammar.
“But not utterly conditional on... the conclusion of
the reform process. Start financing, encourage the reforms,” he told reporters.
Ammar “assured me the reforms are proceeding,” Tajani
added.
Tunisia is heavily indebted and facing high inflation
and unemployment.
In recent days, EU leaders including Italian Prime
Minister GiorgiaMeloni have warned of the risks of an economic collapse which
could drive more people to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
Migrants from across Africa and Tunisia itself
regularly use Tunisia’s coastline, less than 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the
Italian island of Lampedusa, as a springboard for attempts to reach Europe.
“Sceptical or negative messages about Tunisia... do
not help the Tunisian economy and fuel all the problems, including illegal
migration,” Ammar said Thursday in joint statements to the press.
“Helping the Tunisian economy also means fighting
migration,” he said.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286216/middle-east
--------
Sudan’s military warns of conflict after rival force
deploys
April 13, 2023
KHARTOUM: Sudan’s military on Thursday warned of
potential clashes with the country’s powerful paramilitary force, which it said
deployed troops in the capital and other cities.
Tensions between the military and the Rapid Support
Forces have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay of the signing of an
internationally-backed deal with political parties to restore the country’s
democratic transition. In a statement, the military said the buildup of the RSF
in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country has come without “the approval of, or
coordination with” the armed forces’ leadership.
It said the RSF measures “have stirred up panic and
fear among people, exacerbated security risks and increased tensions between
regular forces.”
The military said it has attempted to “find peaceful
solutions to such violations” to prevent an armed conflict with the RSF.
The military’s statement came as the RSF deployed
troops in the Northern Province on the border with Egypt. Local media reported
that the paramilitary force has attempted to build a military base there.
The RSF said its deployment across the country aims at
“achieving security and stability and fighting human trafficking and illegal
migration.”
Recent tensions are rooted in the integration of the
RSF into the military. The RSF, led by powerful Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo,
grew out of former militias that executed a brutal crackdown in Sudan’s Darfur
region over the past two decades.
In a statement issued Thursday, Sudan’s National Umma
Party — one of the country’s largest political groups — called for restraint
and urged other political forces not to escalate the situation.
“All political forces must refrain from issuing any
statements or support for one of the parties,” the group said. The groups have
arranged an emergency meeting Thursday morning and invited leaders from both
forces to attend.
Sudan has plunged into chaos since a 2021 military
coup removed a western-backed, power-sharing administration and dashed Sudanese
aspirations for democratic rule after three decades of autocracy and repression
under Islamist President Omar Al-Bashir.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286031/middle-east
--------
Libya detains second American for preaching
'evangelism'
13 April 2023
The Libyan Internal Security Agency says police have
detained a US citizen for inviting to convert to Christianity.
The American was arrested for "inciting our
children to renounce Islam and convert to Christianity," the agency said
in a statement on Thursday. It accused the American of operating "in the
company of his wife as a missionary on behalf of the organization 'Assemblies
of God' in order to seduce the sons of our Muslim people."
Assemblies of God is a missionary organization based
in the state of Arkansas.
The arrest came a day after another American citizen
in Tripoli was detained on a similar ground. While security forces have not
named the man arrested on Wednesday, Libyan media identified him as Jeff
Wilson,
Two Libyans were also arrested for conversion to
Christianity. They have confessed how they were convinced by foreigners to
convert.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/04/13/701489/Libya-American-Christianity-conversion
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan warns of strikes on terrorist hideouts in
Afghanistan
Apr 14, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif,
said Islamabad has warned the Afghan Taliban it will strike terrorist hideouts
inside Afghanistan if Kabul is unable to rein in anti-Pakistan militants.
In an interview with the Voice of America, Khawaja
Asif said that during his visit to Kabul in mid-February, he reminded the
Taliban leaders to live up to their cross-border security commitments
forbidding terrorists from using their soil for attacks on Pakistan and, that,
Islamabad would take action otherwise.
“If that is not done, at some point we’ll have to ...
resort to some measures, which will definitely — wherever (terrorists) are, their
sanctuaries on Afghan soil — we’ll have to hit them,” he said, adding, “We’ll
have to hit them because we cannot tolerate this situation for long.”
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August
2021, Pakistan has seen a resurgence in terror attacks planned and conducted by
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), having deep roots with the Afghan Taliban,
al-Qaida, and the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).
According to Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an
Islamabad-based think tank, the country recorded at least 262 terror attacks in
2022, of which the TTP was responsible for at least 89.
Last November, the group ended a unilateral ceasefire
after talks with Islamabad broke down. Since then, Pakistan has seen near-daily
attacks, most of them targeting military and police personnel.
When asked if he believed Kabul's assertion that the
TTP is not operating from Afghan soil, Asif said, “They still operate from
their soil.”
The minister claimed the Taliban leadership “responded
very well” to the recent warning. Asif said he believes that the Afghan Taliban
are trying to “disentangle” from the TTP.
The minister also criticized former Pakistan prime
minister, Imran Khan, and the previous military and intelligence leadership,
for allowing thousands of Taliban fighters and their families to return to
Pakistan in a bid to continue negotiations with the militants. Intelligence
reports said the decision allowed the terrorists to regroup.
Pakistani government and security officers allege the
TTP fighters attacking Pakistan are using arms and equipment left behind by the
US troops at the end of the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Asif said the TTP is using light weapons, assault
rifles, ammunition, night vision goggles, and sniper rifles that the US troops
had left behind.
When asked if Pakistan had shared any evidence with
Washington, Asif questioned how that would help Islamabad as “Washington left
... that sort of hardware on foreign soil because they couldn't carry it.”
Alluding to the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan
after two decades of fighting the US and coalition troops, Asif questioned
Washington’s ability to fight terrorism successfully or the need to request its
help to fight terrorism in Pakistan.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Political parties urged to work for creation of Hazara
province
April 14, 2023
MANSEHRA: Lawyers, traders and religious scholars on
Thursday urged mainstream political parties to jointly work for the creation of
Hazara and other provinces in the country.
“We call for legislation by mainstream parties for
Hazara and more provinces,” Tehreek-i-Sobah Hazara convener Mushtaq Khan told a
function here. People from different walks of life attended the event.
Trader leaders Haroonur Rasheed and Mohammad Hanif
said members of their community would continue supporting the cause of Hazara
province.
Lawyer Iftikhar Alam said the county faced political
and economic crises to the misery of the people.
He said political parties should legislate to create
more and more federating units to strengthen the federation.
Jamiat ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader Maulana Wasiur Rehman
said the Constitution was required to be amended for Hazara and other
provinces.
The participants also demanded punitive action against
police officials involved in the killing of seven people during the April 2013
peaceful rally in Abbottabad for Hazara province.
Dues demanded: Contractors of government projects on
Thursday called for the immediate payment of dues.
“Though the Election Commission of Pakistan hasn’t
banned the release of payments to us [contractors] for the work done on
development projects, the secretary to local government board illegally
withheld our dues after the dissolution of the provincial assembly in January
this year,” leader of the Government Contractors’ Association Raja Ishtiaq told
reporters here.
Accompanied by members of the association, Mr Ishtiaq
said contractors in the province were struggling to make ends meet due to
nonpayment of dues amid record inflation.
He said the ECP had yet to notify the schedule for the
KP Assembly elections but the LG board’s secretary had blocked the contractors’
payments by overstepping his authority.
Association leader Usman Iqbal said if those payments
were withheld any further, contractors could stop work on development projects.
He said the ECP banned the transfer and posting of
government officials as well as the inauguration of development projects and
schemes after the election schedule was announced, so denying contractors dues
even before that happened was unfair.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747485/political-parties-urged-to-work-for-creation-of-hazara-province
--------
‘Patience, reciprocity’ needed in dealing with Kabul:
Khar
Iftikhar A. Khan
April 14, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan once again warned the
international community against abandoning Afghanistan, which is currently
facing a humanitarian crisis and needs urgent assistance to survive.
Speaking at the Ministerial Meeting of the Neighbours
of Afghanistan in Samarkand on Thursday, Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar
called for ‘patience’ and ‘reciprocity’, saying that the international
community should continue to engage with the interim Afghan government. “We
need to be flexible. This process should be appropriately incentivised,” she
suggested.
She said Pakistan firmly believed that humanitarian
support should remain delinked from any political considerations.
She mentioned Kabul’s decision to suspend education
for women and girls and to prevent female staff members from working for
national and international NGOs.
Says Pakistan believes aid should be delinked from
political considerations
The minister regretted that some of the policies and
actions of the interim Afghan government didn’t provide an incentive for
engagement.
Ms Khar said people were questioning the utility of
engaging with the interim Afghan government as she called these approaches
“misplaced and need to be re-assessed”.
“The international community currently finds itself at
a standstill with Afghanistan. The cascade of unmet expectations has meant that
critical support needed by Afghanistan to stave off a grave humanitarian
crisis, prevent an economic meltdown and combat terrorism has been withheld”,
she said.
“We cannot talk of the Afghan people without talking
to them. Constructive engagement with the Interim Afghan Government remains
imperative. As friends and neighbours, we don’t have the luxury to disengage
with Afghanistan”, she said.
Noting that connectivity has remained a pipe dream for
far too long, Ms Khar advocated for turning this ‘constraint’ into a conduit
for regional peace and prosperity.
Connectivity projects such as CASA-1000, Trans-Afghan
Railways, TAPI and others, were not merely economic undertakings, they were
strategic investments for a shared future, the minister noted.
Meetings
On the sidelines of the conference, Ms Khar met with
the foreign ministers of China, Russia and Iran.
During her meeting with Chinese State Councilor and
Foreign Minister Amb Qin Gang, the two sides reaffirmed the commitment to peace
and stability in Afghanistan.
In her meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov, the two sides agreed to further bilateral cooperation in trade,
investment, energy and food security.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747588/patience-reciprocity-needed-in-dealing-with-kabul-khar
--------
Pakistan court grants Imran Khan interim bail till May
4 in three cases
Apr 13, 2023
LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on
Thursday extended interim bail to Imran Khan till May 4 in three cases related
to the clashes between his supporters and the police during an operation to
arrest the former premier in the Toshakhana corruption case last month.
Lahore's Anti-terrorism court (ATC) granted one-time
permission to Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to
appear for the hearing via video link in the case.
Imran had filed petitions for bail in three FIRs
registered with the Race Course police station under anti-terror laws.
Khan, 70, has been repeatedly claiming that his life
is under threat because of which he was abstaining from attending court
hearings.
ATC judge Ejaz Ahmad Bhutta asked Khan's lawyer Salman
Safdar what he had done for which he was facing threats to his life.
To this, Safdar said those who were behind a gun
attack on his client (in last November) could answer this.
"If Imran Khan is assassinated Pakistan will
descend into chaos like what had happened after the murder of former premier
Benazir Bhutto," he said.
"There are credible reports that Mr Khan can be
targeted by snipers on his way to courts and these can be verified from the law
enforcement agencies," he said.
In November last year, Khan survived an assassination
attempt on his life.
After hearing arguments, the judge allowed Khan to
mark his attendance in court through a video link and extended his pre-arrest
bail till May 4, a court official said.
The Lahore police had booked Khan and hundreds of his
party workers in three terrorism cases during clashes with police last month in
an operation to arrest him in the Toshakhana case.
Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts,
including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a
discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana, and selling them
for profit.
He was disqualified by the Election Commission of
Pakistan in October last year for not sharing details of the sales.
The election body later filed a complaint with the
district court to punish him, under criminal laws, for selling the gifts he had
received as prime minister of the country.
Khan has vehemently denied those charges.
The other case is related to the killing of a PTI
worker in which Khan was booked for attempted murder.
Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, is currently
facing over 140 cases registered against him under treason, terrorism, murder,
attempted murder, blasphemy, and other charges.
Khan was ousted from power in April last year after
losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy
targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia,
China, and Afghanistan.
Since his ouster, he has been demanding early
elections to remove what he termed an "imported government" led by
prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
PPP names panel to prepare ground for talks with PTI
Zulqernain Tahir
April 14, 2023
LAHORE: After Asif Zardari’s proposal that Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif should initiate ‘unconditional’ talks with the
opposition PTI, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday formed a
three-member body to persuade allies in the government to start the process
with the Imran-led party.
According to a PPP statement, Senator Yousuf Raza
Gillani, Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar and PM’s Adviser on
Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira will “engage with allies in the
coalition government to reach consensus on dialogue with all political
parties”.
The main task of the three PPP leaders is to persuade
the PML-N and JUI-F to hold talks with PTI on all issues, including elections,
to end the ongoing crises.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Kaira said PPP is primarily
concerned about “deadlock” among the political players.
Three-member body faces uphill task of persuading
PML-N, JUI-F to sit down with opposition party
“First, we will speak to our allies and try to
convince them on holding talks with the opposition. Once we succeed in it then
we will talk to the PTI to respond to the government’s offer of dialogue,” Mr
Kaira said.
When asked if PML-N was reluctant to sit with PTI, Mr
Kaira said: “PM Shehbaz had earlier offered PTI chief Imran Khan to sign the
charter of economy. It was because of Mr Khan’s response to that offer which
made the PML-N leadership bitter.”
Asked if the establishment is playing any role to
bring the government and opposition on the table, Mr Kaira said: “I would say
that we don’t have the blessings of the establishment but every saner element
would like to see dialogue between the government and the opposition so that
the ongoing crises come to an end.”
However, the Sharifs do not want elections in Punjab
on the Supreme Court’s order and therefore see no point in holding talks with
PTI.
PPP’s senior leader from south Punjab Haider Zaman
Qureshi told Dawn his party believes that if mandated it can play a positive
role in convincing all players to sit together and sort out all thorny issues
relating to elections and economy.
In a recent development, ousted prime minister Imran
Khan has shunned his ‘hard stance’ of not sitting with what he calls “thieves”,
saying he is willing to hold talks, including with the establishment, on the
issue of elections.
It was after Mr Khan’s green signal that PTI leader
and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser declared his party was ready
to go for a one-time constitutional amendment to hold polls in October, 2023.
“Imran Khan’s disqualification and return of PML-N
supreme leader Nawaz Sharif and nothing short of it will be acceptable to us
before polls. After that, doors to talks [with PTI] will be open,” a senior
PML-N leader from Punjab told Dawn, requesting anonymity.
“Holding talks with Mr Khan means conceding to his
demand for elections. Even in October [polls] do not suit us in the current scheme
of things. So let the PTI wait for an appropriate time for talks.”
Federal Minister Javed Latif said: “How come we go
into elections if our leader — Nawaz Sharif — is not allowed to return. There
should be a level playing field for the elections and let him come before the
polls,” said Mr Latif.
Talking to Dawn, senior analyst Dr Hasan Askari
commented that Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman have taken a
“very hard line” of not sitting with PTI.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747589/ppp-names-panel-to-prepare-ground-for-talks-with-pti
--------
UAE gives financial pledge of $1bn to IMF for
Pakistan: Dar
April 14, 2023
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the
United Arab Emirates has confirmed its commitment to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) for its bilateral financial support of $1 billion to Pakistan.
“UAE authorities have confirmed to IMF for their
bilateral support of US $1 billion to Pakistan,” Dar said in a tweet today.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747612/uae-gives-financial-pledge-of-1bn-to-imf-for-pakistan-dar
--------
Two TTP militants shot dead in Lower Dir
April 14, 2023
LOWER DIR: The district police on Thursday claimed to
have killed two militants affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan
(Bajaur) during an encounter with police at Khat Kalay area of Talash here late
on Wednesday night.
Briefing the local journalists at his office, Lower
Dir district police officer Tariq Iqbal said that both the terrorists
identified as Burhanuddin and Hafeezullah alias Umar, residents of Alladand,
Malakand, were involved in the murder of a traffic police officer, Bakht Zamin,
who was martyred in Talash Bazaar on April 4.
The DPO said that police were informed about the
presence of the two suspects at Khat Kalay in Talash Wednesday night.
He said when the police team reached the place, the
accused hurled a hand grenade at a police van which did not explode. The
militants also fired at the police personnel but they remained unhurt.
In retaliation, both terrorists were killed on the
spot. The DPO said the bodies were brought to the THQ hospital Talash and later
dispatched to Malakand district.
Police also recovered two pistols, six cartridges, a
hand grenade, two mobile sets and a motorcycle from the militants’ possession.
Responding to queries, the DPO said the accused belonged to the TTP Bajaur
group and were also wanted in several other cases.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747492/two-ttp-militants-shot-dead-in-lower-dir
--------
Cash-strapped KP govt won’t pay employees before Eid
Umer Farooq
April 14, 2023
PESHAWAR: The caretaker government of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday decided that it won’t pay next salary ahead of Eidul
Fitr due to the unavailability of funds.
Finance minister Himayatullah Khan told reporters
following a cabinet meeting here that the provincial government required Rs48
billion to pay its employees before the imminent post-Ramazan Eid festival but
it was too cash-strapped to do so.
“Our [KP’s revenue] shortfall totals Rs90 billion,” he
said.
Mr Himayatullah said that different unions of
government employees had opposed the salary payment in advance fearing that
officials would face serious financial issues in the next month.
Minister claims province’s revenue shortfall totals
Rs90 billion
The minister complained that the province didn’t
receive a single penny from the federal government on account of net hydel
profit.
He said that the province generated six per cent of
its revenue by itself and that the centre had to pay Rs62 billion hydel profit
dues to it.
Mr Himayatullah said that for loan, the International
Monetary Fund had set the condition of framing rules for the imposition of
general sales tax on goods and services.
He said that the companies registered in cities
including Karachi and Lahore would pay taxes to the respective provinces, but
the National Tax Commission agreed that that tax would be equally distributed
to provinces.
The minister said that tax issues had been resolved
for IMF loan deal.
“The cabinet has approved the formulation of rules for
the Sales Tax on Services Act, 2022, which will help KP collect an additional
revenue of Rs5 billion annually,” he said.
Earlier, caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan
chaired the cabinet meeting, according a statement issued by the Chief
Minister’s House.
Mr Khan said that Rs238 billion worth “federal
transfers” to KP were due by the centre.
He said that the provincial government had written
several letters to the federal government and even held multiple meeting on the
issue.
The chief minister said that he hoped that Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif would help the province claim its due payments from the
centre.
He said that the caretaker government had taken
several austerity measures in view of its financial issues, while needless
expenses were also being controlled.
In the cabinet meeting, the caretaker chief minister
directed authorities to finalise the proposed economic measures to improve the
province’s economic condition and put them to the cabinet in its next meeting
for approval.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1747489/cash-strapped-kp-govt-wont-pay-employees-before-eid
--------
3 terrorists killed in intelligence-based operation in
Balochistan’sGishkore: ISPR
Iftikhar Shirazi
April 13, 2023
Three terrorists were killed during an
intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’sGishkore area, the army’s
media wing said on Thursday.
According to a statement released by the
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an IBO was conducted to clear a
terrorist hideout linked with firing incidents on security forces and
civilians, as well as planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on
Turbat-Hoshab road in general area Gishkore.
“As a result of continuous intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance of the area, a location of terrorists was identified and
security forces were heli-inserted,” the ISPR said.
“While the establishment of blocking positions to cut
escape routes was under way, terrorists opened fire [on] security forces,” the
statement said, adding that three terrorists were killed in the heavy exchange
of fire that ensued.
The ISPR said a cache of arms and ammunition,
including IEDs, had been recovered during the operation.
“Security forces, in step with the nation, remain
determined to thwart such attempts aimed at sabotaging the peace, stability and
progress of Balochistan,” the statement said.
A day earlier, three terrorists were killed by
security forces during an IBO in the Loesum area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur
district.
The ISPR had said the slain terrorists were “actively
involved in multiple terrorist activities against security forces as well as
extortion and target killings of innocent citizens”.
Over the past few months, the law and order situation
in the country has worsened, with terrorist groups executing attacks with near
impunity across the country.
Since the talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) broke down in November last year, the militant group intensified its
attacks, particularly targeting the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and areas
bordering Afghanistan. Insurgents in Balochistan have also stepped up their
violent activities and formalised a nexus with the TTP.
According to statistics released by the Pakistan
Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank,
January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018, as 134
people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in
at least 44 militant attacks across the country.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan's government reiterates completion of all IMF
requirements for bailout
Apr 13, 2023
KARACHI: Pakistan has completed all requirements to
receive critical bailout money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the
country reiterated following a meeting with the lender on Thursday.
Pakistan has less than a month's worth of foreign
exchange reserves and is awaiting a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the
IMF that has been delayed since November over issues related to fiscal policy
adjustments.
The funds, which can only be released after signing a
staff level agreement (SLA), are part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF
approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical for Pakistan to avert
defaulting on external payment obligations.
“The Finance Minister further shared that all prior
actions for 9th Review under the Extended Fund Facility have already been
completed and Government of Pakistan is fully committed to fulfill its obligations
as agreed with the IMF," said the Finance Ministry in a press release.
The statement said discussions included economic and
financial policies, reforms and initiatives to implement ongoing IMF programs.
It added that Antoinette MonisoSayeh, deputy managing
director at the IMF, supported continuing to work together and was confident of
signing of SLA very soon.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast Asia
Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan Call on US to Shoulder
Responsibility for Afghan Situation, Lift Anti-Kabul Sanctions
2023-April-13
The foreign ministers of the regional quartet issued a
joint statement on Thursday following their meeting in Uzbekistan’s city of
Samarkand, within the framework of a ministerial conference of Afghanistan’s
neighboring countries.
According to the statement, the four foreign ministers
stressed the importance of respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence
and territorial integrity, expressing their support for the principle of
“Afghan ownership and Afghan leadership” to determine the political and
development path of the country.
They said all members of the international community
would benefit from a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, a country that should be
a venue for international cooperation instead of geopolitical competitions.
The ministers voiced their concern over the security
situation in Afghanistan, stating that all terrorist groups based in the
country, including Daesh (ISIS or ISIL), East Turkestan Islamic Movement
(ETIM), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and
Jaish ul-Adl pose a serious threat to regional and international security and
stability.
They called on Afghan officials to take effective
measures to improve the security, safety and legitimate rights of its citizens
and institutions outside the country.
The ministers voiced their strong objection to the
re-establishment of military bases inside Afghanistan, which would not be
useful for regional peace and stability, and called on Afghan officials to
maintain cordial foreign relations, observe international law, and co-exist
peacefully with other countries.
The four ministers expressed their readiness to
support Afghanistan’s reconstruction, trade and economic exchanges, and
investment in cooperation with regional states. They also called on the
international community to send more humanitarian aid to the country.
The second quadrilateral meeting of Iran, Russia,
China and Pakistan on Afghanistan in Samarkand was held on the sidelines of the
fourth meeting of Afghanistan’s neighboringcountries. Foreign ministers of
Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan – Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Sergei Lavrov, Qin
Gang and Hina Rabbani Khar, respectively – took part in the meeting.
The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 following
the September 11 attacks, despite the fact that no Afghan national was involved
in the raids. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans died in the US war of aggression
on the country. American forces had occupied the country for two decades on the
pretext of fighting against the Taliban.
The Taliban, who had previously ruled Afghanistan from
1996 to 2001, took power again in August 2022 as the US was in the middle of a
chaotic troop withdrawal. The group announced the formation of a caretaker
government weeks later. Following the Taliban’s takeover, the US and its allies
rushed to cut off Afghanistan’s access to international aid and froze nearly
$10 billion in assets belonging to the country’s central bank.
Several countries, including Iran, Russia and China,
have repeatedly stressed that the United States seeks to shift responsibility
for the crisis situation in Afghanistan, and making statements about the need
for other countries to reconstruct the nation. They announced that Washington
has no right to shift the burden of responsibility for the situation in the
war-torn country onto other states.
Source: Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
China ‘concerned’ about impact of Afghan policies on
women’s rights
14 April ,2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said his country is
“concerned” about the impact of recent policies introduced by Afghanistan’s
Taliban government on the rights of women, state media reported on Friday.
Qin’s comments at a regional summit in Samarkand,
Uzbekistan come after a decision by the conservative Taliban authorities to bar
women from working for the United Nations sparked international outrage.
“China and other friendly neighbors of Afghanistan are
concerned about the recent policies and measures taken by the Afghan side and
their possible impact on the basic rights and interests of Afghan women,” Qin
told reporters on Thursday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
But the foreign minister added that while the issue of
women’s rights and interests is very important “it is not the whole issue of
Afghanistan, nor is it the core or root cause of Afghanistan’s problems.”
“We should neither turn a blind eye to this problem
nor ignore it,” he said.
Under their austere interpretation of Islam, Taliban
authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing
power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government
jobs.
Taliban officials have argued that their extension of
curbs on female employment to include the UN’s operations in the country --
announced by a spokesperson for the international body on April 4 -- is an
“internal issue.”
Since the chaotic withdrawal of United States troops
in August 2021, the Taliban government has failed to establish formal
diplomatic relations with any other nation.
China harshly criticized what they saw as a hasty and
ill-planned departure of US military personnel, saying at the time that they
were ready to enter “friendly and cooperative” relations with the new
government.
Ahead of Qin’s visit to Central Asia this week,
China’s foreign ministry released a position paper on Afghanistan, affirming
that it “respects the independent choices made by the Afghan people, and
respects the religious beliefs and national customs.”
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North America
US personnel targeted in Iraq drone strike were on
mission to defeat Daesh/ISIS: Pentagon
Rabia İclalTuran
14.04.2023
WASHINGTON
US personnel in Iraq's Kurdistan region were there as
part of the mission to defeat Daesh/ISIS when the convoy they were traveling in
was targeted last week, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said Thursday.
The convoy of YPG/PKK ringleader Ferhat Abdi Sahin,
codenamed Mazloum Abdi, was targeted on April 7 by a drone strike near
Sulaymaniyah International Airport. Three US personnel were in the convoy. The
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) reported no injuries.
"On April 7, a convoy, including US personnel,
was fired upon while in transit within the Iraqi Kurdistan region in the area
near Sulaymaniyah," Ryder confirmed, adding that US forces are in Iraq and
Syria in support of the "defeat ISIS mission."
"It struck more than 100 meters from the convoy
and CENTCOM is currently investigating the incident," he added.
When asked what was the mission of the US personnel,
he responded: "We're supporting the Iraqi security forces as part of the
defeat ISIS mission. As you know, we have forces in Iraq. They're not
conducting combat operations. They're advising and assisting the Iraqis. And
then we have forces in Syria that are supporting the SDF."
He was referring to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the
US's partner in Syria in the fight against Daesh/ISIS. The YPG/PKK terrorist
group rebranded itself as the SDF to have a voice in talks on Syria.
In response to a question about the SDF's relation
with the PKK, he said: "We have partnered with the SDF since 2014 as part
of the defeat ISIS mission. We have a longstanding relationship with them. They
are not the PKK."
The US policy on Syria has been one of the most
challenging issues between the two NATO allies as Türkiye has never accepted
the US’s backing of the YPG because of its ties to the PKK, which has been
recognized as a terrorist organization by both Türkiye and the US.
The US on the other hand sees the YPG, which was
renamed as the SDF, as a partner in the fight against Daesh/ISIS in Syria and
does not recognize it as a terrorist group, although it does acknowledge the
PKK as such.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US sanctions Turkish companies for ‘helping Russian
war effort’
MENEKSE TOKYAY
April 13, 2023
ANKARA: The recent US announcement to impose export
controls on several Turkish companies for allegedly doing business with Russia
has stirred debate on the effectiveness of these sanctions and whether Ankara,
with elections looming, should respond in some manner to protect its rising
trade relations with Moscow.
This is the first time Washington has sanctioned
Turkish companies for allegedly helping Russia evade sanctions. Last year, the
Turkish branch of a Russian company, called MMK, which owned two steel
facilities, was sanctioned by the US.
The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday it has
imposed new export controls on 28 companies based in China, Turkiye and other
countries for supplying Russia’s military and defense industries with US-origin
items, which it deemed violated America’s sanctions regime.
The sanctioned companies include Azu International, a
Turkiye-based electronics firm that was established in March 2022, shortly
after the Ukraine invasion, and which allegedly shipped to Russia
foreign-origin electronics technology, including computer chips.
Also on the list is DexiasTurkiye, based in Turkiye
and headed by Alim KhazishmelovichFirov, which allegedly procured US-origin
electronic components as an intermediary for Radioavtomatika, a Russian defense
procurement firm.
Since February 2022, there have been more than 400
entities added to the list that intends to restrict “Russia’s ability to
sustain, repair and resupply its weaponry,” the US Commerce Department said in
February.
“As the Kremlin seeks ways around the expansive
multilateral sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia for its war
against Ukraine, the United States and our allies and partners will continue to
disrupt evasion schemes that support Putin on the battlefield,” said
Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian
E. Nelson.
“Today’s action underscores our dedication to
implementing the G7 commitment to impose severe costs on third-country actors
who support Russia’s war.”
This move also coincides with the latest statement by
James O’Brien, head of the US State Department’s Office of Sanctions
Coordination, cautioning that Turkiye has pledged to ban the re-export of
sanctioned Western goods to help Russia’s war efforts.
SonerCagaptay, director of the Turkish Research
Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, thinks this is just
the beginning and tougher US measures against Turkiye firms may follow.
“In the upcoming period, US sanctions will target even
harder several companies doing businesses with Russia,” he told Arab News.
“This is the policy of the Biden administration ahead
of the elections in the US, that aims to deliver a foreign policy win and it
requires these sanctions to really work,” he said.
“So far the US government followed the path of
compliance going through companies. Maybe this latest move is doubling down
these efforts,” Cagaptay added.
In line with this warning, Turkiye’s government
recently provided Turkish companies in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals
sector with a list of foreign goods that are prohibited from being sent to
Russia. In addition, Ankara has also given verbal guarantees to the European
Commission that sanctioned goods will not be transited to Russia from March 1,
to comply with Western sanctions.
However, experts have cautioned about the negative
impact on Turkiye, a NATO member, and its repercussions for the international
community.
According to Cagaptay, the US government is also
acting carefully and does not want to interfere with Turkiye’s economic
stability and politics in these critical times.
“But this is the tip of iceberg. In the post-elections
period, the US would require more stringent demands on Turkish companies to not
trade with Russia, and that will definitely have an impact on Turkiye’s trade
volume with Russia,” he said.
Russia is still one of Turkiye’s major partners, with
trade rising last year when Turkiye was in desperate need of foreign exchange
earnings because of the currency crisis.
Trade between Turkiye and Russia has increased since
the Ukraine invasion despite Western sanctions, with hundreds of Russian
companies having opened branches in Turkiye — a financial haven for Russians —
to circumvent sanctions.
Trade volume between the two countries climbed to
$68.2 billion last year, while in March, Turkiye’s exports to Russia increased
by 285 percent to $1.1 billion.
Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul think tank EDAM,
thinks the recently announced US sanctions on these Turkish companies is an
indication that the sanctions regime adopted by Washington can also have
consequences for a NATO ally like Turkiye.
“But we have to essentially contextualize this
measure. All Turkish exports to Russia will not be affected by this measure,”
he told Arab News.
“The sanctioned entities have been found in violation
of US sanctions for a range of critical technology products. This is indeed the
area of concern of US policymakers given that these products are seen to be
helping the Russian war effort,” he said.
But at the same time, Ulgen added, this measure
demonstrates that there is indeed a concern about the re-export of some
critical technology products.
“This is where pressure is likely to be also sustained
also on Turkiye, but for this specific range of products,” he said.
According to Ulgen, so far there has been a modus
vivendi between Turkish and US authorities on the implementation of sanctions.
“Turkiye has been quite cautious in not crossing some
critical red lines set by the sanctions regime,” he said.
“For instance, in the past, when there were clear
complaints about the Russian Mir payment system where the Turkish banking
system accepted transactions based on Russian credit cards, Turkiye ultimately
withdrew from this system,” he said.
“There is a good collaboration between Turkish and US
authorities regarding the sanctions and this will continue,” Ulgen added.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286471/middle-east
--------
Europe
Iran Calls For Intl. Probe Into US-Funded Biological
Laboratories In Ukraine
13 April 2023
The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has
called for an international investigation into reports of US-funded biological
laboratories in Ukraine and elsewhere across the world.
“The published news about US military biological
laboratories in Ukraine and some other countries of the world is deeply
worrying. Such activities are in contradiction to the international obligations
of the United States, especially the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and
pose a threat to humanity," Nasser Kan’ani wrote in a post published on
his Tweeter page on Thursday.
He added, “The matter requires an impartial
international investigation.”
A Russian parliamentary commission investigating
Washington's military-related biological activities at laboratories across
Ukraine concluded on Wednesday that Washington is developing a
"universal" genetically-altered bioweapon comparable to that of a
"nuclear winter."
The commission added in its 207-page report that the
probe into the manufacturing of the highly-damaging bioweapon was based on
findings made public by Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense
Troops over the past year.
"The United States aims to develop a universal
genetically engineered biological weapon capable of infecting not only people
but animals as well as agricultural crops. Its use involves, among other
things, the goal of inflicting large-scale and irreparable economic damage on
the enemy," the commission said.
"The covert and targeted use of such a weapon in
anticipation of a positive inevitable direct military confrontation could
create a significant advantage for US forces over the adversary, even against
those who possess other types of weapons of mass destruction," it said.
"The possession of such highly effective
biological weapons creates, in the view of the US military, the real
prerequisites to change the nature of contemporary armed conflicts," it
added.
Soon after Russia launched its military operation in
Ukraine in February 2022, Russian Ambassador to the UN VassilyNebenzia stated
that secret American labs in Ukraine had been engaged in biological warfare.
The US and Ukraine, however, denied the charges.
In October last year, Russia asked the UN Security
Council to establish a commission to investigate its claims that Washington and
Kiev were violating the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons as
a result of alleged activities being carried out at biological laboratories in
Ukraine.
‘West seeks to prolong Ukraine conflict’
Also on Thursday, Kan’ani categorically dismissed a
recent report by Politico magazine that China and Russia are in advanced secret
talks with Iran to replenish the Islamic Republic’s supply of a key chemical
compound used to propel ballistic missiles.
Kan’ani told IRNA that such reports are aimed at
prolongation of the Ukraine war.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Tory peer fears backlash against British Muslims as
result of UK home secretary’s ‘racist rhetoric’
April 13, 2023
LONDON: Conservative peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has
expressed concern for the safety of her family, due to fears of a backlash
against British Muslims following what she described as “racist rhetoric” from
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
Warsi, the daughter of Pakistani immigrants who was
the first Muslim appointed to the UK Cabinet and the first Asian person to
serve as chairperson of the Conservative Party, slammed Braverman for her
race-based comments about child abuse grooming gangs.
The home secretary recently said groups of
“vulnerable, white English girls” were being “pursued and raped and drugged and
harmed by gangs of British Pakistani men who’ve worked in child abuse
networks.”
On another occasion, Braverman said the main
perpetrators of gang-based sexual exploitation were British-Pakistani men “who
hold cultural values totally at odds with British values, who see women in a
demeaned and illegitimate way and pursue an outdated and frankly heinous
approach in terms of the way they behave.”
Warsi, who was appointed to the House of Lords by the
Conservative Party in 2007, told The Guardian she had urged her father not to
walk home alone from the mosque, amid her concerns about the potential
consequences of Braverman’s comments.
“I’ve had to warn my son that if people start swearing
and shouting, to just remove himself from the situation to avoid it escalating
into an attack,” she added. “Why should I be having these conversations with my
son?
“If you look at the interviews she did, she gave no
caveats; Ms. Braverman basically said group sexual exploitation is a British
Pakistani problem. At no point in those interviews did she say it was a small
minority of British Pakistanis committing these crimes.
“Suella Braverman needs to understand that when she
opens her mouth she’s speaking as a home secretary. She can’t use loose
language. This kind of ‘shock jock’ language is becoming a pattern with her. It
feels like she is more interested in the rhetoric and the noise of creating a
culture war than the actual job.”
Warsi called on Conservative Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak, whose family is of Punjabi descent, to discourage such race-based
comments.
“I do not believe Sunak shares Braverman’s extreme
views,” she told the Guardian. “In his own statement on government plans to
tackle child sexual exploitation, he did not use the same language as Braverman
and looked uncomfortable when questioned about it.
“But as head of the party, the responsibility stops
with him. As the first prime minister from an ethnic minority background, he
should not want to be remembered for presiding over a government that engaged
in racist rhetoric.”
A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian: “The
home secretary has been clear that all despicable child abusers must be brought
to justice. And she will not shy away from telling hard truths, particularly
when it comes to the grooming of young women and girls in Britain’s towns, who
have been failed by authorities over decades.
“As the home secretary has said, the vast majority of
British Pakistanis are law-abiding, upstanding citizens but independent reports
were unequivocal that in towns like Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford, cultural
sensitivities have meant thousands of young girls were abused under the noses
of councils and police.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286441/world
--------
Ex-Conservative leader joins calls for UK government
to help former Afghan personnel
April 13, 2023
LONDON: A former leader of the governing Conservative
Party has joined a campaign urging UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to do more to
help former Afghan servicemen seeking refuge in Britain.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith said there needs to be greater
“flexibility” in letting people apply for the Afghan Relocation and Assistance
Policy, following news that a former Afghan Air Force pilot, described as a
“patriot” by coalition colleagues, had been threatened with deportation to
Rwanda for entering the UK illegally.
He added that the UK has a “moral obligation” to
people who had served alongside British forces in Afghanistan, including the
pilot, who claims to have been “forgotten” by the West.
The pilot, whose identity has been kept secret to
protect him and his family, has written to Sunak asking for assistance.
Last week, Sunak told MPs that he would “make sure the
Home Office has a look” at the case.
“With all schemes there needs to be flexibility,” Sir
Iain told The Independent, the newspaper running the campaign. “It’s smart
always to be flexible on these things. We have established a safe route with
the (ARAP) Afghan scheme, so it shouldn’t take too much to move him across to
the scheme.
“If there is evidence he (the pilot) is what he claims
to be, then I assume the government can look at it under the existing safe
routes, and act accordingly.”
ARAP has come under intense scrutiny since the pilot’s
case emerged, with criticism that its criteria are too strict to allow people
who did not work directly for the UK government to use it.
Just 3,399 applications to seek refuge in the UK by
Afghans have been deemed eligible under the scheme, with 18,946 people
rejected.
Several politicians with military backgrounds have
spoken in favor of making it easier for former Afghan military personnel to
travel to the UK.
Labour MP Clive Lewis, who served with the British
Army in Afghanistan, said the pilot’s potential deportation is
“overwhelming(ly) wrong because it’s someone who has risked their life
alongside British forces, and then gets thrown to the wolves.”
He added: “The very narrow parameters of the Afghan
resettlement scheme highlights that the government’s rhetoric doesn’t match up
with reality.
“There are thousands of others fleeing persecution who
still deserve to be given refuge in this country.”
Tobias Ellwood MP, an army reservist and the chair of
the House of Commons Defense Select Committee, warned that there is “no
functioning process that allows Afghans to apply for asylum from abroad.”
Conservative MP Julian Lewis, former chair of the
committee and a former naval reservist, told The Independent that “special
consideration should also be given to genuine former military personnel who
were our allies in the fight against Islamist extremists.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2286431/world
--------
Bosnia and Herzegovina counts on Spain's support for
its EU bid: Minister
BeyzaBinnurDönmez
14.04.2023
GENEVA
Bosnia and Herzegovina believes in Spain's support as
the country strives to become a member of the European Union, Bosnia’s foreign
minister said Thursday.
ElmedinKonakovic's remarks came after a meeting with
his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares in the capital Sarajevo.
The relationship between the two countries is at a
"good level," Konakovic told a press briefing, adding he hopes to
increase the amount of talks they have with Albares.
Albares for his part said that Spain attaches
importance to the Western Balkan region as well as to the EU membership of its
countries, noting that both items are among his nation’s
"priorities."
He added that he also discussed Russia's war on
Ukraine with Konakovic and reiterated that his country will continue to support
Kyiv.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Spanish foreign
minister's second stop after Serbia, which he visited Wednesday.
"I will convey Spain's renewed interest in the
region. We will address its European accession and its relationship with the EU
during the Spanish presidency. We will strengthen the friendship between Spain
and the Western Balkans," he said as he began his visit to Serbia.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Azerbaijan, Bosnia hail 'new era' in bilateral
relations
Talha Ozturk
13.04.2023
BELGRADE, Serbia
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday said
that a new era has begun in relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Aliyev's remarks came during his first-ever official
visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina after a series of meetings in the capital
Sarajevo.
Speaking at the press conference, Aliyev thanked
Bosnia and Herzegovina for support during Azarbeijan's operation to liberate
Karabakh territory from Armenia.
"We are grateful to you for this friendship and
brotherhood. Today, a new era begins in our relations. We will strengthen the
relations in the economic field. There will be activities between Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Azerbaijan in the strategic field," said Aliyev.
In the fall of 2020, during 44 days of heavy fighting,
Azerbaijan liberated a significant part of Karabakh, and a Russian-brokered
peace agreement was subsequently signed, which was considered a triumph in
Baku.
Aliyev was welcomed with an official ceremony by the
Croat, Bosniak, and Serb members of the tri-partite Presidential Council.
Aliyev said that they agreed to cooperate in the field
of energy and infrastructure.
"We have invested a lot in infrastructure
projects in many countries. It is important for us to connect the Caucasus and
the Balkans. I believe we will take concrete steps in this direction. We also
talked about deepening intercultural dialogue. We can do good work in this
field because there are differences in the ethnic structure of the two
countries. Baku and Sarajevo, they were sister cities in the times of
Yugoslavia and the USSR. I am sure that our friendship will increase even more
after this meeting," said Aliyev.
Zeljka Cvijanovic, chairman of the Presidential
Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, described the visit as historic for the
beginning of a new era.
"Let's call it a new era," said Cvijanovic.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/azerbaijan-bosnia-hail-new-era-in-bilateral-relations/2871448
--------
EU will not open detention centers for irregular
migrants in Bosnia: Envoy
Talha Ozturk
13.04.2023
The European Union will not set up a detention center
for immigrants in the city of Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the country
is facing the most pressure from irregular migration, said the EU ambassador to
the country on Thursday.
There is no question of opening a detention center for
immigrants in the Lipa Migrant Camp near Bihac, Johann Sattler said after
meeting with Mustafa Ruznic, prime minister of the Una-Sana Canton.
He added that there will be a small shelter “for 12
people, where people with problems can stay for up to 3 days. These people will
then be sent to Lukavica, near (the capital) Sarajevo.”
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Italy, Tunisia agree to counter irregular migration in
Mediterranean
Ahmet Gencturk
13.04.2023
Italy and Tunisia agreed to counter the flow of
irregular migration in the Mediterranean, which led Italy to declare a state of
emergency earlier this week, local media reported on Thursday.
Rome and Tunis consider the fight against human
smuggling to be fundamental, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani
during a joint press conference with his visiting Tunisian counterpart Nabil
Ammar, according to the public broadcaster RAI.
He said there are already cooperation agreements
between the two countries, and these will be seriously implemented to address
the growing problem.
Tajani, moreover, revealed that Italy favors more aid
to Tunisia for the reforms the country will implement and will help it secure
funds from IMF.
He also claimed that it is not the business of others
to decide who would govern Tunisia.
“We are not colonizers," Tajani said.
Ammar, for his part, said: “Tunisia is willing to
strengthen cooperation with all partners to combat human trafficking and to
protect migrants. We are ready to do everything possible.”
He, however, stressed that medium- and long-term
solutions are of economics.
“We need to rehabilitate our economy and are counting
on Italy, an EU member,” Ammar said.
Italy declared a six-month state of emergency Tuesday
to help it deal with a surge in the number of migrants arriving in the country
via the Mediterranean Sea.
In recent weeks, Italy has seen a significant rise in
the number of migrants and refugees arriving on its southern shores from North
Africa, with over 3,000 coming in the last three days alone.
Frontex on Thursday remarked that the Central
Mediterranean route became the most active illegal crossing route to the EU,
with some 28,000 crossing in the first quarter of the year.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/temple-committees-kerala-iftar-party-ramadan/d/129562
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism