Under Biden, The United States Will Restore Aid To Palestine And Reopen Diplomatic Missions Shuttered Under The Trump Administration
New Age Islam News Bureau
27 January 2021
Then-US Vice President Joe Biden, left, and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, shake hands for the press at the
presidential compound in Ramallah, West Bank, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. (Debbie
Hill, Pool via
-----
• Afghan Govt’s Negotiator Holding Peace Talks With
The Taliban, Nader Nadery, Accuse Taliban Of Snubbing Talks
• AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Pitches For
Dalit-Muslim Unity
• Pak Govt Decides To Amend Constitution For Senate
Election
• Israeli Occupation Of Arab Territories Threatens
Regional Stability, Security: Syria To UNSC
• Israel Says Ambassador To Morocco Takes Up Post
After 20 Years Of Embassy Closure
• Top Security Official: Iran Not to Recognize
Movements Empowered with War in Afghanistan
• Moscow Says Washington Must First Return To Nuclear
Deal For Iran To Comply
North America
• Under Biden, The United States Will Restore Aid To
Palestine And Reopen Diplomatic Missions Shuttered Under The Trump
Administration
• Canada Parliament Labels US Far-Right Proud Boys
Group 'A Terrorist Entity'
• Texas wannabe ISIS terrorist pleads guilty to
providing materials to brutal group
• NATO Secretary-General, US President Discusses
‘Range of Challenges’ in Afghanistan, Iraq
• US expanding military presence in Saudi Arabia amid
high tensions with Iran
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South Asia
• Afghan Govt’s Negotiator Holding Peace Talks With
The Taliban, Nader Nadery, Accuse Taliban Of Snubbing Talks
• Pakistan Secretly ‘Offers Facilities and ID Cards’
to Afghans Near Durand Line
• ‘Trade, investment should dominate Bangladesh-US
ties’
• 2 Policemen Injured in Another String of IED
Attacks, Kabul
• Taliban backs COVID-19 vaccination drive as Afghan
government gets funding pledge
• New generation of Taliban emerging, MP says
--------
India
• AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Pitches For
Dalit-Muslim Unity
• Two soldiers injured in Kashmir terror attack
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Pakistan
• Pak Govt Decides To Amend Constitution For Senate Election
• Pakistan opposition backs out from talks with
government
• PTI lodges foreign funding case against JUI-F
• China’s outgoing consul general praises Shehbaz’s
performance as CM
• Govt notifies dress code on the heels of SC
reprimand
• Land issues on Pak-Afghan border to be resolved:
Langove
• Pakistan Taliban ‘commanders’ killed in northwest:
Pakistani army
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Arab World
• Israeli Occupation Of Arab Territories Threatens
Regional Stability, Security: Syria To UNSC
• Grazing cows lead to squabble on Lebanese-Israeli
border
• US-led coalition military convoy targeted near
Iraq's Samarra
• Qatar stresses resolve to boost already ‘excellent’
ties with Iran
• US attempts to destabilize region through supporting
terrorism: Iraqi MP
--------
Africa
• Israel Says Ambassador To Morocco Takes Up Post
After 20 Years Of Embassy Closure
• Ethiopia Says No Border Talks Until Sudan Leaves
Contested Land Amid Rising Tensions
• Tunisian protester dies after police clashes,
fuelling new confrontations
• UN special envoy arrives in Sudan
• Tunisians Protest Once Again Against Social Injustice
And Police Abuse
• Nigerian police kill two Sheikh Zakzaky supporters
in Abuja
• Kenya: KDF Guns Down Terror Suspect, Injures Dozens
--------
Mideast
• Top Security Official: Iran Not to Recognize
Movements Empowered with War in Afghanistan
• Turkey Faces Mysterious Jihadi Enemies In Idlib
• Ending Houthi Sanctions Raises Iran Terror Threat,
Critics Warn
• Are Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis firing warning shots
across Biden administration’s bows?
• Iran Urges US to Compensate for Mistakes toward Iran
• Iran, Russia Ink Cyber Security Agreement
• Iran sentences brother of country’s senior VP to two
years in prison for corruption
• Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian in alleged
knife attack in occupied West Bank
• 5 terrorists surrender to Turkish security forces
--------
Europe
• Moscow Says Washington Must First Return To Nuclear
Deal For Iran To Comply
• UN report accuses Yemen govt of money laundering,
Houthis of taking $1.8 bln in 2019
• US should place embargo on arms deliveries,
logistical support to Saudi-led coalition: Houthi
• France hopes US will change attitude on Lebanon’s
Hezbollah: Elysee source
• Moscow, Tehran interested in complete restoration of
JCPOA
• Germany's Far-Right AfD Braces For Surveillance
--------
Southeast Asia
• Five Men Arrested in Aceh over Alleged Links with
the Islamic State
• Penang Hindu temple completes annual silver chariot
journey for Thaipusam before dawn
• Indonesian virus cases surpass a million amid vaccine
drive
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/under-biden-united-states-restore/d/124157
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Under Biden, The United States Will Restore Aid To
Palestine And Reopen Diplomatic Missions Shuttered Under The Trump
Administration
26 January 2021
Then-US Vice President Joe Biden, left, and
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, shake hands for the press at the
presidential compound in Ramallah, West Bank, Wednesday, March 9, 2016. (Debbie
Hill, Pool via
-----
The United States will restore aid for the Palestinian
people, and it will reopen diplomatic missions shuttered under the Trump
administration, a US official said Tuesday.
Under new US President Joe Biden, Washington will
continue using the momentum from his predecessor to encourage more countries to
normalize ties with Tel Aviv. But the Biden administration recognizes that
normalization is “not substitute for Israel-Palestinian peace,” acting US
ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills told the Security Council on
Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Biden’s Middle East policy will be “to
support a mutually agreed, two-state solution, in which Israel lives in peace
and security, alongside a viable Palestinian state,” Mills said.
Former President Donald Trump unveiled a peace plan,
which envisioned a disjointed Palestinian state that turned over key parts of
the West Bank to Israel. It also sided with Israel on key contentious issues
that have bedeviled past peace efforts, including borders and the status of
Jerusalem and Jewish settlements, and attached nearly impossible conditions for
granting the Palestinians their hoped-for state.
Nevertheless, Trump was able to broker normalization
deals between Israel and four Arab states, which included the United Arab
Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/Under-Biden-US-will-restore-aid-to-Palestine-and-reopen-diplomatic-missions
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Afghan Govt’s Negotiator Holding Peace Talks With The
Taliban, Nader Nadery, Accuse Taliban Of Snubbing Talks
In this file photo taken on February 29, 2020, members
of the Taliban delegation gather ahead of the signing ceremony with the United
States in the Qatari capital Doha Giuseppe CACACE AFP/File
------
January 27, 2021
DOHA: Afghan government negotiators holding peace
talks with the Taliban charged on Tuesday their opponents had been avoiding
formal engagement for more than a week, an accusation the insurgents denied.
The two sides have been meeting in the Qatari capital
Doha since September in a US-backed effort to contain the violence in their
country, but the negotiations have already been interrupted by several long
pauses.
“Peace and ending the violence are our people and
government’s top priority,” tweeted Afghan government negotiator Nader Nadery.
“To achieve this noble goal, the (government) peace
negotiation team is committed and present in Doha.” His message added that no
formal meetings had been held for nine days and said “the other side is not
willing to engage in talks to end the conflict and save lives”.
The Taliban rejected the suggestion they were putting
off direct, formal engagement with the government side.
“Reports that the intra-Afghan talks have been delayed
indefinitely are false, and the two teams are in touch with each other,” said
the spokesman for the Taliban’s Doha office, Mohammad Naeem.
“No negotiations can be continuous and happening on a
daily basis, since there may also be need for internal meetings.”
‘Further pressure’
Afghan government negotiators are pushing for a
permanent ceasefire and to protect governance arrangements in place since the
2001 ouster of the Taliban in a US-led invasion following the September 11
attacks that year.
The talks have however been marred from the start by
an increase in violence, and the country has seen a recent spate of
high-profile targeted killings of officials, activists and journalists.
The negotiations follow a landmark foreign troop
withdrawal deal signed in February 2020 by the insurgents and Washington.
The US agreed to withdraw all foreign forces within 14
months, in exchange for security guarantees and a Taliban pledge to hold talks
with Kabul.
President Joe Biden’s administration has however
signalled it will review the US deal with the Taliban, including whether the
insurgents have reduced attacks in keeping with the agreement.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603866/afghan-govts-envoys-accuse-taliban-of-snubbing-talks
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Israeli occupation of Arab territories threatens
regional stability, security: Syria to UNSC
27 January 2021
A senior Syrian official says the Israeli regime’s
continued occupation of Arab territories poses dire threats to the stability
and security of the Middle East region, criticizing the UN Security Council for
failure in its responsibility to end Tel Aviv’s land grab.
Speaking at a virtual UN Security Council session on
Tuesday, Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the
United Nations Bashar al-Ja’afari said the Council has not managed over the
past 54 years to bring Israel to account for its hostile acts against people in
the occupied Arab lands due to the protection that some of the body’s Western
permanent members, particularly the US, provide to the regime.
Ja’afari added that Israeli authorities’ disrespect
for the international law and resolutions has reached an unprecedented level,
as the regime presses ahead with its repeated acts of aggression against Syrian
lands in a blatant violation of Security Council Resolution 350 and the 1974
Disengagement of Forces Agreement.
“The past few days have witnessed a sharp rise in the
number of Israeli attacks against Syria, the most recent of which took place
last Friday, when the regime perpetrated a new act of aggression near the city
of Hama, claiming the lives of a couple and two children and wounding four
others from the same family. A number of innocent civilians’ homes were
destroyed in the process as well,” the Syrian diplomat added.
He further slammed Israel’s arbitrary arrests of local
Syrians in the occupied side of the Golan Heights, saying such a practice
attest to the regime’s crimes and human rights violations.
Ja’afari called on the UN Security Council to take a
prompt measure to ensure the implementation of Resolution 497 and force the
Israeli regime to stop its settlement expansion activities and repressive
procedures against Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan Heights.
In 1967, Israel waged a full-scale war against Arab
territories during which it occupied a large swathe of Syria’s Golan Heights
and annexed it four years later, a move never recognized by the international
community.
Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its sovereignty over
the Heights, saying the territory must be completely restored to its control.
In March 2019, former US president Donald Trump signed
a decree recognizing Israeli “sovereignty” over Golan during a meeting with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/27/643932/Israeli-occupation-of-Arab-territories-threatens-regional-stability-security-Syria-UN-envoy
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AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi Pitches For Dalit-Muslim
Unity
Jan 27, 2021
Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday
appealed for unity among the Dalit-Muslim community ahead of Bidar municipal
elections, likely to be held in February. Addressing a gathering in Bidar, he
said, “"Muslims should never compete with Dalits, instead, they should
take Dalits along with them.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/owaisi-pitches-for-dalit-muslim-unity/articleshow/80470232.cms
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Pak govt decides to amend Constitution for Senate
election
Jan 27, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cabinet has decided to table a
bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution for holding the Senate elections
through open vote.
The decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting on
Tuesday, presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“The government wants the (Senate) polls to be held in
a transparent manner and without horse-trading. This is why we want Senate
polls to be held through an open ballot,” Information Minister Shibli Faraz
told the media after the meeting.
He said that in the past, money was used in Senate
elections and votes were bought making the House election a mockery. He asked
what was the use of an upper house in which people come through purchasing of
votes.
Faraz also said that people opposing the proposed move
are forgetting that their own party had demanded open ballot in the past.
“The government will present a constitutional
amendment bill in the parliament so that Senate polls are held through open
ballot,” he said.
Already the government petitioned to the Supreme
Court, seeking direction to hold the upcoming Senate elections through open
ballot. The decision is pending.
Meanwhile, Dawn newspaper quoted a Cabinet member as
saying that Prime Minister Khan tasked his advisor parliamentary affairs Babar
Awan to table a bill in the National Assembly for holding Senate elections
through open ballot when the adviser was giving a briefing on the status of the
government's reference in the Supreme Court.
Awan said the government had already laid two bills —
Constitution Amendment Bill and Electoral Reforms Bill — in Parliament on the
basis of which desired legislation could be done for an open ballot.
The Cabinet member said Awan had called a meeting of
his ministry and its legislation branch to devise a roadmap on how to proceed
with the matter in Parliament.
It has been proposed that since Senate polls could not
be held through show of hand because every voter has to show his preference in
the ballot paper. Therefore, to ensure open identity of the voter, the voter
should be required to mention his name on the back side of the ballot paper,
according to Dawn newspaper.
Senate elections will be held in the first half of
next month and prime minister Khan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-I-Insaf is wary
that its own members may vote a gay party policy, according to Opposition
parties that are against the move.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pak-govt-decides-to-amend-constitution-for-senate-election/articleshow/80476374.cms
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Israel says ambassador to Morocco takes up post after
20 years of embassy closure
Tuqa Khalid
26 January 2021
Israel's new ambassador to Morocco arrived in Rabat on
Tuesday to take up his post, as part of normalizing relations under the
US-brokered Abraham Accord deals, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a
statement.
The Ambassador David Guvrin arrived in Rabat along
with his staff to begin working on further promoting bilateral ties between the
two countries in all areas including: politicis, tourism, economy, and culture.
The Israeli embassy in Morocco had been shut in 2000
in solidarity with Palestinians.
Morocco became the fourth Arab country to forge deals
with Israel, joining the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. Israeli enoys along with Jared
Kushner, former US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and architect of
pan-Arab rapprochements with Israel, had visited Morocco late December and met
with its king to iron out the details of upgrading ties.
The Israeli ministry also announced the opening of the
Israeli consulate in Dubai on Tuesday and the appointment of Ilan Shtulman as
new Consul General, two days after Israel inaugurated its embassy in Abu Dhabi
and the UAE's cabinet approved establishing an Emirati embassy in Tel Aviv.
Israel's MFA also said its embassy in the capital of
Bahrain Manama has been operational for several weeks.
In a first, Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen
led a delegation to Khartoum, months after Sudan and the Jewish state struck a
deal to normalize ties, an Israeli spokesman said on Tuesday.
Palestinians have been critical of the normalization
deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a
longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it
can receive recognition.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/Israel-says-ambassador-to-Morocco-takes-up-post-after-20-years-of-embassy-closure
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Top Security Official: Iran Not to Recognize Movements
Empowered with War in Afghanistan
2021-January-27
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will never recognize a
stream that wants to come to power through war in Afghanistan,” Shamkhani said
in a meeting with the head of Taliban’s political bureau, Mullah Abdul Ghani
Baradar, and his accompanying delegation in Tehran.
He stressed the need for participation of all ethnic
groups in deciding Afghanistan’s fate in a completely peaceful process.
Shamkhani described security of Afghanistan, specially
in the provinces bordering Iran, as highly important, and underscored the need
for Taliban's cooperation with the Afghan government to fight against any
insecurity and confront the ISIL terrorist group’s moves.
He referred to US record of atrocities and
warmongerings in the region, and said, "The US does not seek peace and
security in Afghanistan. The US strategy is to continue war and bloodshed among
different groups in Afghanistan.”
Shamkhani said that the US is seeking to stage a show
of peace talks with the aim of creating a deadlock in the negotiations among
various parties in Afghanistan to blame them for insecurity and instability.
Abdul Ghani Baradar, for his part, presented a report
on the peace process in Afghanistan, and voiced regret about Trump's disloyalty
to the implementation of the peace agreement.
"We do not trust the US and we will fight any
stream that is the US mercenary," he added.
"We believe that all tribes and groups should
participate and play a role in the future of Afghanistan," Mullah Abdul
Ghani Baradar said.
He also emphasized the necessity for the establishment
of security at Afghanistan-Iran border, and voiced Taliban’s readiness to
cooperate with Tehran in this regard.
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry declared in a statement
on Tuesday that it is informed of a delegation of Taliban group to Tehran to
negotiate with Iranian officials on the Afghan peace process.
“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has
informed the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan about the visit
of the Taliban delegation to Iran and has already requested and received the
views of the Government of Afghanistan in this regard,” the statement said.
Elaborating on the purpose of the Taliban delegation's
visit to Iran, it said in addition to a declaration of its views, Tehran
informs the Taliban on the existence of a regional consensus on immediate
ceasefire and a comprehensive peace agreement within the framework of the
Republic system and preservation of Afghanistan’s constitutional values.
“Iran wants to ensure that the post-conflict
Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for the terrorist groups and remains a
center of regional and international cooperation,” the statement added.
It expressed the hope that the Taliban would comply
with the legitimate demands of the Afghan people to stop the bloodshed and
ensure lasting peace.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
said on Tuesday that a delegation of the Taliban group arrived in Tehran to
negotiate with Iranian officials on the Afghan peace process.
Khatibzadeh said that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and
his accompanying delegation have come to Tehran upon the invitation of the
Iran’s foreign ministry.
“The Taliban delegation is scheduled to meet with
senior Iranian diplomats to talk about the latest developments regarding the
Afghan peace process and the related issues,” he added.
In relevant remarks in December 2020, Iranian
Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said that his country supports the
Afghanistan peace negotiations, stressing that Tehran places the interests of
the Afghan people above all other interests.
Takht Ravanchi said during a meeting of the UN
Security Council on Afghanistan on Thursday December 17 that Iran fully
endorses the ongoing peace talks in Doha, noting that what is of the primary
importance for his country are the national interests in Afghanistan.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991108000341/Tp-Secriy-Official-Iran-N-Recgnize-Mvemens-Empwered-wih-War-in
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Moscow says Washington must first return to nuclear
deal for Iran to comply
26 January 2021
Russia said Tuesday that the United States must lift
sanctions against Tehran and comply with the Iran nuclear deal as a condition
for the Islamic Republic to rejoin the accord.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with
his Iranian counterpart that he hoped that “the United States returns to full
compliance with the corresponding Security Council resolution, creating
conditions for Iran to meet its obligations under the nuclear deal.”
The Iran nuclear deal was agreed in 2015 between Iran,
the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
It offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on
Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb.
The agreement largely fell apart after former US
president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and ordered officials to reimpose
tough penalties against Tehran as part of his administration’s “maximum
pressure” policy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed
Russia’s position Tuesday saying that if Washington lifts sanctions on Iran,
“we will return to the full implementation of our obligations” under the
agreement.
Washington has suggested it is prepared to rejoin the
accord and President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken,
said at a Senate confirmation hearing this month that Trump’s policies had made
Iran “more dangerous.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/Iran-nuclear-deal-Moscow-says-Washington-must-first-return-to-nuclear-deal-for-Iran-to-comply
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North America
Canada parliament labels US far-right Proud Boys group
'a terrorist entity'
26/01/2021
Canada's parliament on Monday unanimously passed a
motion calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to designate the
right-wing Proud Boys as a banned terrorist group.
The motion is purely symbolic, but the government has
said authorities are monitoring the group and collecting evidence that could
support the move.
Put forward by the fourth-ranked New Democrats, the
motion states that the government should "use all available tools to
address the proliferation of white supremacists and hate groups, starting with
the immediate designating of Proud Boys as a terrorist entity."
Members of the Proud Boys, which was started by a
Canadian who has since distanced himself from the group, were among Donald
Trump supporters charged over the violent assault on the US Capitol earlier
this month.
Its chairman, Enrique Tarrio, was also arrested in
Washington over the torching of a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a church
during violent protests in December.
In Canada, they first made headlines in 2017 when five
navy members of the Proud Boys were disciplined for disrupting an indigenous ceremony
in Halifax.
Canada lists dozens of banned terrorist organizations
including Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Taliban and the Islamic State group.
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210126-canada-parliament-labels-us-far-right-proud-boys-group-a-terrorist-entity?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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Texas wannabe ISIS terrorist pleads guilty to
providing materials to brutal group
Jan 26, 2021
A 22-year-old Texas man pleaded guilty Monday to
providing material support to ISIS, federal prosecutors said.
Jaylyn Christopher Molina, aka Abdur Rahim, of Cost,
Texas, appeared in court in San Antonio before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard
Farrer.
Molina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to
provide material support to ISIS and one count of receiving child pornography.
The wannabe terrorist admitted that since May 2019, he
conspired with 34-year-old South Carolina resident Kristopher Sean Matthews,
aka Ali Jibreel, and others to provide services to ISIS.
These services included, among other things,
administering an encrypted chat group for ISIS supporters, collecting,
generating and disseminating pro-ISIS propaganda, attempting to recruit
individuals to join the group, and disseminating bomb-making instructions.
Molina also pleaded guilty to one count of receiving
child pornography. In September, federal authorities executing a search warrant
of Molina’s home where they seized his cell phone, which contained 18 images
depicting child pornography.
If convicted, Molina faces up to 20 years in federal
prison on the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years in federal prison on the
child pornography charge. He remains in federal custody pending his sentencing.
Matthews, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in November to a
conspiracy charge to provide material support to ISIS. He remains in federal
custody, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing is scheduled for
10:30 a.m. CST on March 4, 2021, before Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando L.
Garcia in San Antonio.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-man-isis-terrorist-pleads-guilty-provide-material-support?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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NATO Secretary-General, US President Discusses ‘Range
of Challenges’ in Afghanistan, Iraq
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
27 Jan 2021
General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General has
spoken to US President Joe Biden on “Range of challenges that NATO allies face,
such as countering international terrorism” in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In a NATO stated on Tuesday, that Stoltenberg welcomed
President Biden’s focus on rebuilding alliances, stressing that NATO is a
location where Europeans and Americans meet every day, adding that “together, we can face challenges
that none of our nations can face alone”.
“They agreed to work together on preparing the NATO
Summit in Brussels later this year, where leaders will take decisions to make
our strong Alliance even stronger,” the statement read.
Both of the prominent figures discussed various
challenges, like countering international terrorism, dealing with assertive
Russia, and addressed implications for the security of the rise of China.
They affirmed their intention to work closely on
global challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed
the need to maintain momentum for Defense spending for keeping the allied
countries safe.
This comes at a time when Italian defense Minister
Lorenzo Guerini visited Kabul on Tuesday and met with President Ashraf Ghani
and Abdullah Abdullah, HCNR head.
Presidential Palace stated that Guerini discussed
bilateral relations and the presence of Italian forces in Afghanistan, during
the meeting he expressed his concerns over intensified violence and string of
assassinations across Afghanistan.
Guerini also called for an immediate reduction and end
to violence, the statement said.
According to the Presidential Palace Statement, “The
Italian Defense Minister praised the valor and bravery of the Afghan Defense
and Security Forces in the fight against terrorism and said Italy supports a
peaceful, united and democratic Afghanistan. “Minister Guerini added that Italy
remains committed to continuing its assistance with Afghanistan in various
areas and in terms of the presence of Italian forces in Afghanistan within the
framework of NATO Resolute Support Mission”.
“President Ghani said people of Afghanistan and the
world with a unified voice call for halting the violence and asserted Taliban
must understand that protraction of the violence will prompt the people of
Afghanistan and the world to mobilize against them,” read the statement.
“President Ghani also extended gratitude to Italy’s
support for the development and economic programs in Afghanistan, particularly
funding the fourth part of Khwaf-Herat railway project as well as its
assistance within the framework of the NATO Resolute Support Mission”, the
statement concluded.
Meeting with NSA Hamdullah Mohib, Guerini agreed to
the need for strengthening a unified, sovereign, and democratic Afghanistan,
and protection of all rights of afghans including women’s and minority rights.
The Italian Defense expressed his agreement on
persevering decades of achievements in Afghanistan.
Head of High Council for National Reconciliation,
Abdullah Abdullah also exchanged his views on bilateral relations, the peace
process and thanked Italy for their continued support for Afghanistan.
https://www.khaama.com/nato-secretary-general-us-president-discusses-range-of-challenges-in-afghanistan-iraq-556655/
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US expanding military presence in Saudi Arabia amid
high tensions with Iran
26 January 2021
The US military says it has been testing different
ports and airbases on Saudi soil over the past year as options for the
deployment of troops and equipment in the event of a conflict with Iran amid
heightened tensions between the two sides.
US Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central
Command, said the evaluation of a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and additional
two airfields began around a year ago under ex-president Donald Trump,
following a 2019 attack against the state-owned Saudi Aramco oil processing
facilities at Abqaiq.
The Aramco installations were targeted in air raids on
September 14, 2019, which disrupted approximately half of the kingdom’s oil
capacity or five percent of the daily global oil supply.
“These are prudent military planning measures that
allow for temporary or conditional access of facilities in the event of a
contingency, and are not provocative in any way, nor are they an expansion of the
US footprint in the region, in general, or in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in
particular,” Urban claimed, according to the Associated Press.
Following the Aramco attack, Saudi Arabia and the US
immediately blamed Iran without providing any evidence. Iran denied the
allegation. Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement later claimed
responsibility.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also said
the body’s investigators were unable to independently confirm claims that the
Islamic Republic was behind the attack.
Relations first turned sour between Tehran and Riyadh
after the latter executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, on
January 2, 2016, drawing widespread fury among Shia Muslims across the region
and the world.
The execution was followed later in the day by an
attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran by angry protesters. Riyadh cut
diplomatic relations with Tehran after the attack, and has since pursued a
willful policy of hostility against the Islamic Republic.
In spite of numerous calls by Iranian leaders for
dialog, Saudi Arabia overtly lobbied for former US President Donald Trump’s
so-called maximum pressure on Iran, which included severe economic pressure and
military provocations.
Also, during Trump’s four years in office, the US deployed
the first troops into Saudi Arabia since the withdrawal of its forces from the
kingdom in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Currently, some
2,500 American soldiers man fighter jets and Patriot missile batteries at
Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and the US concluded
joint military exercises in a show of force that Riyadh claimed was “to
maintain security and stability in the region.”
The Saudi air force, the Royal Saudi Naval Force, the
US Navy, the US Coast Guard and the US Air Force also conducted combined joint
air operations in the Persian Gulf between December 17 and 18 last year.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/26/643907/US-weighing-more-military-presence-in-Saudi-Arabia
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South Asia
Pakistan Secretly ‘Offers Facilities and ID Cards’ to
Afghans Near Durand Line
27 Jan 2021
The head of Nangarhar Provincial Council says Pakistan
is planning to issue ID cards to Afghan tribal leaders living in districts near
the disputed Durand Line.
According to Ahmad Ali Hazrat, head of Nangarhar
Provincial Council, the Pakistani government had repeatedly made such offers to
Afghans living near the Durand Line in the past.
He posted on his Facebook, that he has documents and
evidence to substantiate his claim, but could not share it due to insecurity,
he claimed hundreds of Afghans near the border were given Pakistani ID cards.
The Pakistani government had promised Afghans living
close to the border, that they would be provided with scholarships and good
facilities inside Pakistan, Hazrat indicated.
He also claimed that Pakistan by cutting the barbwires
and underground construction of tunnels across the Afghan-Pak border is
directly facilitating terrorist groups to easily enter Afghanistan.
On the other hand, Wajia Ul Rehman Shinwari, Nangarhar
tribal chief said the Pakistani government has offered its promises of facilitating
life and bringing electricity to the Afghans near the border, but were rejected
by the people.
Pakistan so far have not commented in this matter.
https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-offers-facilities-and-id-cards-to-afghans-near-durand-line-3344433/
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‘Trade, investment should dominate Bangladesh-US ties’
January 26th, 2021
Bangladesh diplomacy needs to be more proactive to buy
time from Biden administration, which is pre-occupied by Covid-19 pandemic, for
gains from Dhaka-Washington relationship, eminent personalities say
The relationship between Bangladesh and the United
States, the largest economy of the world, should be dominated by trade and
investment to benefit both the countries, eminent personalities said at a
webinar on Tuesday.
They have also said that as the new administration
under President Joe Biden is pre-occupied by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic
creating havoc across the US, the Bangladesh diplomacy needs to be more
proactive in order to get time to make gains from the relations.
The Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, a think tank,
organized the virtual program titled “Bangladesh-US Relations: Opportunities
and Challenges” six days after the inauguration of the new American president,
Joe Biden.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen attended the event
as chief guest, while Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime
Minister Salman F Rahman was present as the guest of honour.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh
Ambassador to the US Shahidul Islam and US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller
spoke as special guests as well.
BEI Distinguished Fellow Farooq Sobhan made the
keynote presentation, while renowned academician Prof Rehman Sobhan and former
foreign secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury also participated in the program,
moderated by retired ambassador and BEI President M Humayun Kabir.
The speakers said that, in today’s world, almost every
relationship was shaped based on economy, and Bangladesh should not be an
exception.
They expressed optimism that the new US administration
would do more to put pressure on Myanmar to take the Rohingyas back home with
dignity.
Efforts must continue to enhance cooperation between
Dhaka and Washington with respect to terrorism, violent extremism, climate
change, security, defence, poverty alleviation and women empowerment, they
added.
There has also been a demand to get the Generalized
System of Preferences (GSP) restored and allow duty-free, quota-free access for
Bangladeshi RMG exports to the US market.
There were suggestions for exploring the possibility
of signing a free trade agreement between Bangladesh and the US.
The speakers also lamented for the fact that no US
president had visited Bangladesh since 2000, and called for measures for
another such visit soon.
Referring to the repatriation of a convicted
Bangabandhu killer, now residing in US, the foreign minister said the return of
Rashed Chowdhury to Bangladesh could be game changer in the Dhaka-Washington
relationship.
In his keynote speech, Farooq Sobhan, also a former
foreign secretary, said the new US president had identified his priorities,
some of which concerned Bangladesh, and called upon the country’s diplomats to
play a proactive role in this regard.
Foreign Minister Momen said Bangladesh would continue
making efforts to take the already good relationship to a new height.
Salman F Rahman said the development of trade and
investment relationship would not only benefit Bangladesh but also will benefit
the US.
He also stressed the need for projecting the positive
image of Bangladesh on the face of the world.
On Indo-Pacific Strategy, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin
Momen said Bangladesh might face a challenge with regard to balance its
engagements with the US and China.
So Bangladesh will enter arrangements that are
beneficial for the country, he said.
Bangladesh Ambassador in Washington Shahidul Islam
said his mission was already trying to reach out to the new US administration.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh Miller also expressed his
enthusiasm to move the relationship further.
He also laid emphasis on reinvigorating democratic
institutions, good governance and human rights, and allowing civil society,
journalists and trade unions to function.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/foreign-affairs/2021/01/26/trade-investment-should-dominate-bangladesh-us-ties
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2 Policemen Injured in Another String of IED Attacks,
Kabul
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
27 Jan 2021
Kabul Police said Wednesday, that two policemen were
injured in an explosion in Kabul city.
Ferdows Faramarz, a spokesman to central police HQ,
said that a police Ranger type vehicle was targeted by a magnetic bomb at
around 08:00 a.m in the Dispichary Area of PD15, Kabul.
According to Faramarz, both of the policemen were
mildly and superficially injured and were taken for treatment.
Earlier, Kabul police told the media, at least one
person was killed in a targeted magnetic IED explosion in PD5 of Kabul city.
Security officials told the media, that the explosion
took place at around 11:15 a.m. before noon on Tuesday, in the Adeh-Ghazni
area.
Reports indicated a personal Toyota station wagon type
vehicle was targeted in the explosion.
No further details were provided about the identity of
the victim, and an investigation is going into the incident.
No group or individual has yet claimed the
responsibility for the
https://www.khaama.com/2-policemen-injured-in-another-string-of-ied-attacks-kabul/
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Taliban backs COVID-19 vaccination drive as Afghan
government gets funding pledge
January 27, 2021
KABUL: The Taliban militant movement gave its backing
on Tuesday for a coronavirus vaccination campaign in Afghanistan that has
received a $112 million pledge from the World Health Organization’s COVAX
program.
The immunization drive will have to take place amid
relentless violence in the country despite the government and the Taliban
insurgents opening peace talks in September.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that the
group would “support and facilitate” the vaccination drive conducted via health
centers. Officials believe the insurgents would not target vaccine teams as
they would not be going door-to-door.
Announcing the funding, an Afghan health official said
the program would cover the 20 percent of the country’s 38 million population.
The COVAX program is a global scheme to vaccinate
people in poor and middle-income countries against the coronavirus. It aims to
deliver at least 2 billion vaccine doses by the end of 2021 to cover 20 percent
of the most vulnerable people in 91 poor and middle-income countries.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Health Minister Waheed Majroh
told journalists it was going to take six months to get the vaccines but
authorities were in discussions to get them earlier.
Afghanistan has registered 54,854 infections and 2,390
deaths — but experts say cases are significantly underreported due to low
testing and limited access to medical facilities in the war-torn country.
Aside from COVAX, the country has also received a
pledge of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India, Dr. Ghulam
Dastagir Nazari, head of the Expanded Programme on Immunization at
Afghanistan’s health ministry, said.
“The AstraZeneca brand which is manufactured in India
will arrive soon in Afghanistan,” Nazari said, adding that the government was
only concerned about the WHO approval of the vaccine and that the
pre-qualification process has already started.
An Indian government source confirmed that 500,000
doses had been set aside for Afghanistan and another official said the first
batch of vaccines would land in February, though Kabul had not yet adopted the
protocols to administer them.
The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also
said they would finance vaccines for another 20 percent of the population by
the end of 2022, health ministry spokeswoman Masouma Jafari said.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1799141/world
--------
New generation of Taliban emerging, MP says
January 26, 2021
“The first generation of the Taliban was reflecting
brutality and violence and committed massacres against many Afghans, especially
Shias,” Ahmad Naderi tells the Tehran Times.
However, according to the MP, this was the first
generation of the Taliban and observers must take into consideration recent
changes in the Taliban’s attitudes.
“Certainly, the Taliban, like many other movements,
has changed, and the new generation of the movement is different from the
previous generation,” argues Naderi, a graduate of anthropology.
The following is the text of the interview:
Q: What did you mean when you said in a tweet that the
Taliban is a genuine movement?
A: Sociology considers classical social movements as a
phenomenon that has three components: Social actor, ideology, and social
context.
According to the French sociologist Alain Touraine,
these three components, if combined well, can raise the project level of a
movement. So, we call it a genuine movement.
We have three types of social actors; assuming the
movement to be a pyramid, we can see some actors play the role of leadership at
the top of the pyramid. Meanwhile, some others are distributors, and the rest
are the mass of people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Distributors actually act as mediators between the
bottom of the pyramid and the top. We have this definition in the classical
sociology of the social movement. Ideology is a vital component in any movement
that can be communist, Islamic, or liberal, and so on. The social context also
refers to the economic, cultural, or political context. A movement that has
these three components is a genuine movement in the classical sociology of
social movements.
When I say the Taliban is a genuine movement, I do not
mean approval of this phenomenon; I just say the Taliban is a movement on the
ground.
Nevertheless, the Taliban movement is a deep-rooted
movement in Afghanistan enjoying a social background called the Pashtuns;
however, the Taliban is not limited to the Pashtun people. There are various
groups in the Taliban that are not necessarily Pashtuns. Therefore, from this
perspective, the Taliban is a genuine movement. I do not make any positive or
negative judgment.
Q: What is the Islamic Republic's stance on the
Taliban?
A: The Taliban must be understood in a chronological
context. It should be viewed from an anachronistic point of view, not
synchrological. That is why we need to look at the Taliban as a historic
phenomenon.
The first generation of the Taliban was reflecting
brutality and violence and committed massacres against many Afghans, especially
Shias.
It is said that Iranian diplomats were assassinated by
the Taliban, but I very doubt it. According to some accounts inside and outside
Iran, the Iranian diplomats were martyred in Mazar-e-Sharif but not by the
Taliban. Rather, an intelligence service attributed to one of Iran's regional
rivals engaged in terror operations to worsen the relationship between Iran and
the Taliban at that time and even brought Tehran to the brink of war on the
Taliban in Afghanistan.
These events pushed the Islamic Republic to decide
entering Afghanistan territory. "I transferred two mechanized divisions to
the Afghan border within 48 hours and we were ready to attack the Taliban on
the Afghan soil," said former IRGC commander Rahim Safavi.
However, this was the first generation of the Taliban
and their attitudes and behavior are not defensible. But is the Taliban a
constant phenomenon that has not changed at either the structure or the agent
level?
Certainly, the Taliban, like many other movements, has
changed, and the new generation of the movement is different from the previous
generation.
Besides, in the current situation, the only
alternative that can stand against the global jihadists of ISIS is the Taliban.
We now see that the United States has several
candidates for hosting ISIS, one of them is Afghanistan. The most important
reason for sending ISIS terrorists to Afghanistan is its geopolitical and
geostrategic position.
Afghanistan is
located between regional and global powers: China, Russia, India, Iran, and
Pakistan. These powers are seeking a serious position and contribution to the
future world order.
Afghanistan is still important to the United States,
and the deployment of ISIS in Afghanistan could disrupt the balance between
regional actors. Who can stand in face of ISIS as a local player?
Certainly, the Taliban! Because they make up half of
Afghanistan's society and have an ethnic social background inside Pashtun
people.
Therefore, we must look at this issue from the
perspective of national interests. I think the second generation of the Taliban
can confront ISIS, and this creates a strategic link between the Taliban and
the national interests of Iran, and also Russia and China.
Q: Do you expect that the Taliban has cut ties with
its traditional supporters, including Saudi Arabia?
A: Unlike its new generation, the old generation of
the Taliban had a strong connection with Saudi Arabia that no longer continues.
In other words,
the Taliban has turned away from the ideology of Salafism and Wahhabism. I
recommend you to watch Mohsen Islamzadeh's documentary film "Alone among
the Taliban", which offers a brilliant account of what is going on inside
the Taliban.
The documentary by Mohsen Islamzadeh was made in 2015
before Jurgen Todenhofer wrote: “My Journey into the Heart of Terror: Ten Days
in the Islamic State”. Islamzadeh went to the Taliban and produced this global
documentary, which has been translated into multiple languages.
This documentary shows that the media representation
of the Taliban no longer is true, at least in the new generation of the
movement.
The violent Salafism that was rooted in the first
generation of the Taliban due to close ties between Deobandiyya schools and
Saudi Arabia has faded in later generations, according to the film.
Therefore, the
Taliban has no significant ties with Saudi Arabia and even no longer has the
former ties with Pakistan.
In the current situation, our relationship with the
Taliban is based on the principle of "The enemy of my enemy is my
friend." We and the Taliban have a common enemy, and that is the United
States.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457380/New-generation-of-Taliban-emerging-MP-says
--------
India
Two soldiers injured in Kashmir terror attack
Jan 27, 2021
SRINAGAR: Two soldiers were injured after terrorists
attacked an army patrolling party in Kulgam district of south Kashmir on
Wednesday, officials said.
According to details the attack was carried out by
terrorists in the Wanpoh area.
The two injured soldiers were rushed to hospital.
Additional forces have been brought in. The area has been cordoned off and a
search operation was underway.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/two-soldiers-injured-in-kashmir-terror-attack/articleshow/80475314.cms
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan opposition backs out from talks with
government
Jan 26, 2021
Pakistan's Opposition alliance has backed out from
holding talks with the Imran Khan government, widening political rift between
the two sides.
A three-member government delegation, which had met
the Opposition leaders on Friday, seeking better relations at least in
Parliament, were to hold another round of talks with Opposition parties on
Monday. However, following the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)
parliamentary party's meeting in the Parliament House, which was also addressed
by party's vice president Maryam Nawaz, the Opposition dropped the idea of
holding the talks, the Dawn News reported.
Instead, it was all set to stage a protest during the
National Assembly session if the treasury had managed to bring in the required
number of members to the House after quorum was pointed out by a PML-N member.
But the treasury side could not meet the quorum following which proceedings of
the Lower House were adjourned till Tuesday, according to the paper.
It had been hoped that the government-opposition
meeting on Monday would have lowered the political temperature, but instead,
the gulf between both sides widened. The Opposition members even carried
placards inscribed with anti-government slogans. They also placed portraits of
their jailed leaders — Shahbaz Sharif, Khawaja Asif and Khursheed Shah — on
their tables, facing the National Assembly Speaker. However, the Opposition did
not stage a protest in the House after the proceedings stalled due to lack of
quorum.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Syed Naveed Qamar
said the Opposition did not go for the talks as the PML-N was busy in its
parliamentary party meeting. "We cannot meet the government without
PML-N," he was quoted as saying by the daily.
One other hand, Minister of State for Parliamentary
Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan told Dawn that PPP members came for the meeting but not
the PML-N representatives.
"It was decided in our (government-opposition)
Friday's meeting that we will meet again on Monday but the opposition did not
meet its commitment today," he added.
The state minister, however, hinted that the
government planned to invite the opposition for another round of talks in the
coming days. The 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was formed in
September last year with the objective to force the government to hold early
elections.
The PDM held several big rallies last year and has
also said that its lawmakers will resign and make Parliament dysfunctional if
Prime Minister Imran Khan government does not resign by January 31.
However, Prime Minister Khan rejected the PDM's call
to step down or call snap polls.
Khan, the former cricket captain of Pakistan, came to
power in 2018 by winning the general election but the PDM alleged that the
election was rigged by the establishment to ensure his victory.
https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-opposition-backs-out-from-talks-with-government-359504
--------
PTI lodges foreign funding case against JUI-F
Saqib Virk
January 26, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
After having earlier filed foreign funding cases
against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party, the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) filed a foreign funding case against the Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on
Tuesday.
The petition, submitted by PTI Member National
Assembly (MNA) Farukh Habib, includes the transcript of a TV interview of
estranged JUI-F senior leader Hafiz Hussain Ahmed in which he spoke about party
chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman receiving funding from Iraq and Libya.
“Several JUI-F leaders, including Maulana Fazlur
Rehman, used to visit Libya and Iraq on a regular basis,” the petition
contends. It calls for action to be taken against the party according to the
Election Act.
Talking to the media after submitting the petition,
Habib said that the ECP has been asked to summon Fazl and Ahmed and inquire
about the funding.
“The sources through which Fazlur Rehman made his
properties will be revealed,” the MNA said. “It will also reveal the source
from where the anti-government campaign in the country was funded,” he further
maintained.
He added that the ECP has the power to summon Fazlur
Rehman and take action, adding that the foreign-funded parties have come
together.
“You don't care about Islam, you care about
Islamabad,” he said while referring to Fazl.
Also read: Imran received funds from India, Israel for
2018 polls: Fazl
Habib urged Fazl to explain his agenda for taking
money from Iraq and Libya and "submit the receipts if your hands are
clean".
“Nawaz Sharif took [funding] from Osama bin Laden in
the name of the Islamic system and ending a woman's rule,” Habib claimed.
“Maryam Safdar should also come to the ECP with her receipts,” the PTI MNA
stated.
He further added that videos and petitions had also
been submitted to the ECP today. Habib said that there was no objection to the
proceedings of the scrutiny committee being public but this decision was to be
taken by the ECP.
“If the PTI took action regarding foreign funding
itself, it will then be accused of carrying out political revenge,” he said.
“It would be better that the Election Commission completes its work first, the
rest of the institutions will then do their job,” Habib said.
The ruling party's petition against JUI-F comes days
after Fazl hollered at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government.
"We do not believe in either Imran Khan or
Israel," he bellowed, accusing the premier of having received funding from
Israel and India for the 2018 general elections.
Addressing the rally at Quaid-e-Azam’s Mausoleum on
January 22, Fazl said that it was out of question to recognise a country that
stands starkly against Pakistan.
Scrutiny committee meeting
Referring to the adjournment of today's meeting of the
ECP scrutiny committee, owing to the absence of PTI's counsel Shah Khawar in
the foreign funding case, Habib stated that Khawar will be present at the next
hearing.
"He could not attend today's meeting owing to his
engagement in the court today," the PTI MNA claimed.
Habib further stated that the PTI did not have a
problem with the foreign funding case being heard openly, but added that it was
decision to be taken by the ECP.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2281418/pti-lodges-foreign-funding-case-against-jui-f
--------
China’s outgoing consul general praises Shehbaz’s
performance as CM
January 27, 2021
LAHORE: The departing consul general of China in
Lahore, Long Dingbin, on Tuesday praised former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif
for what he called ‘Punjab speed’.
In a farewell letter handed over by a leader of the
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to Shehbaz Sharif at a court hearing, the consul
general said: “Your Excellency is an old friend of China and the Chinese
people.”
He went on to say: “China was deeply impressed by your
devotion to the construction of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) on the
position of the-then chief minister. You made the CPEC project in Punjab
realised, which not only created impressive Punjab speed (for development) but
embodied the profound bilateral friendship.
“The PML-N is always a great friend of Chinese
Communist Party whether in power or as an opposition party.”
Mr Long said he was sure that as the leader of the
opposition in National Assembly Mr Sharif would continue to work as always to
promote “the friendship of our two parties and our two people”.
According to the PML-N leaders, Mr Sharif not only
took the letter as a compliment to his efficiency, but evidence of honesty as
well, and asked his personal staff to write back to the consul general and
thank him for the kind words.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603820/chinas-outgoing-consul-general-praises-shehbazs-performance-as-cm
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Govt notifies dress code on the heels of SC reprimand
January 27, 2021
LAHORE: A day after a Supreme Court judge chided
Lahore’s deputy commissioner for not wearing a proper outfit, the Punjab
government on Tuesday notified a dress code to be observed by the officials
during office hours and while appearing before the courts.
A directive issued by the welfare department states
that the officers of the government of Punjab are required to adopt appropriate
dress code during the office timings and appearing before the courts of law.
The officers have been directed to be mindful of maintaining officer-like
demeanour and grace which reflects prosperity and decency in consonance with
their professional roles.
“All the male officers working under your
administrative control may be instructed to observe a proper dress code i.e.
lounge suit/smart casual with closed collar shirt and tie or shalwar kameez
with waistcoat along with appropriate footwear. In case of female officers, the
dress code should be in line with office decorum and norms while being
reflective of the formal nature of official duties,” says the directive issued
to all divisional and deputy commissioners, all administrative secretaries and
senior member Board of Revenue.
On Monday, Justice Mansoor Ahmad Malik of the SC at
the Lahore registry admonished Deputy Commissioner Mudassir Riaz Malik for not
properly dressing up during his appearance before a three-judge bench.
On a short notice, Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq
Malik also appeared before the court and assured the judges that the executive
officers would be asked to strictly observe their dress during court
appearances.
Justice Malik observed that the court did not want to
hurt the feelings of anyone but to remind the officers of their responsibility.
The judge said there was no law on the dress code of government officials but
their outfit must be reasonable when they appear before courts.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603805/govt-notifies-dress-code-on-the-heels-of-sc-reprimand?preview
--------
Land issues on Pak-Afghan border to be resolved:
Langove
Saleem Shahid
January 27, 2021
QUETTA: Provincial Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove
said on Tuesday that a mechanism would be evolved in consultation with the
Afghan government for addressing the matter of lands belonging to villagers
living on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border. Such pieces of land stand
divided due to fencing by Pakistan to stop illegal crossing by citizens from
both sides as well as to keep an eye on terror suspects.
The minister was presiding over a meeting here on
Tuesday to review the fencing and land settlement issues.
Pakistan is erecting the fence along the Afghanistan
and Iran borders to stop infiltration of illegal people into the country. It
has completed over 80 per cent fencing of the Pak-Afghan border and around 30
per cent of the Pak-Iran border.
Additional Chief Secretary Home Hafiz Abdul Basit and
Commandant Chaman Scouts Rashid briefed the meeting of the border situation and
other related issues.
The meeting was informed that because the fencing,
lands of several tribes on the border had been divided.
The home minister informed the meeting that the provincial
government was aware that lands of various villagers living on both sides of
the Pak-Afghan border had been divided due to fencing and ancestral lands of
many tribes had gone into Afghanistan because of the fencing.
He, however, said that steps were being taken by the
Afghan government to resolve the issue amicably in view of wishes of tribal
elders.
He further said that the district administration and
the Board of Revenue were jointly working and consulting people of all tribes
to settle the issue permanently.
He said a report would soon be prepared and submitted
to the provincial government on the issue.
The issues of dual citizenship identity cards and
Afghan Taskira cards were also discussed.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1603825/land-issues-on-pak-afghan-border-to-be-resolved-langove
--------
Pakistan Taliban ‘commanders’ killed in northwest:
Pakistani army
By Asad Hashim
25 Jan 2021
Pakistan’s military says it has killed five members of
the Pakistan Taliban group in two separate security operations in the
northwestern North Waziristan district, including two senior members of
different factions of the armed group.
In a statement released late on Sunday, the military
said it had conducted security operations in the Mir Ali and Kaisoor areas of
the district, which was once the headquarters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP, or Pakistan Taliban).
“During IBOs [five] terrorists including two terrorist
commanders Syed Raheem [also known as] Abid of TTP (AKK Group) and Saifullah
Noor of TTP (Gohar Group) were killed,” said the statement.
According to the statement, Raheem had been directly
involved in 17 attacks against Pakistani security forces since 2007 and had
been involved in a recent spate of targeted killings in the district.
Since last year, more than 50 people have been killed
in targeted gun and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in North
Waziristan, according to media reports.
“[Raheem] was tasked by hostile agencies for target
killing, recruiting new terrorists and organizing them,” said the Pakistani
military statement.
“He was involved in killing of four [tribal elders] in
Mir Ali area, three engineers working in a company in North Waziristan and many
IEDs attacks.”
Raheem was also said to have been running two suicide
bomber training centres in Mir Ali and the Wana region of neighbouring South
Waziristan district.
Noor was said to be “directly involved in different
IED attacks on Security Forces in Khaisoor”.
Pakistan’s military launched a major set of military
operations in North Waziristan and its adjoining districts in 2014,
successfully displacing the TTP from its erstwhile stronghold into neighbouring
Afghanistan.
Violence and large-scale attacks have dropped
significantly since 2017, but sporadic attacks on civilians and security forces
by the TTP do still take place across the country.
Last year saw a particular spike in the number of
targeted attacks on civilians and security forces in North Waziristan,
prompting renewed security operations.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/25/pakistan-says-pakistani-taliban-commanders-killed-in-northwest?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
--------
Arab World
Grazing cows lead to squabble on Lebanese-Israeli
border
26 January 2021
Lebanese cattle herders from a village close to the
border with Israel said several of their cows, which have grazed freely in the
area for decades, were taken by Israeli soldiers, in what could become a new
dispute between the two countries.
The herders from the border village of Wazzani say
Israeli patrols crossed into a gray zone on Sunday between a technical fence
that separates the two countries and the ‘Blue Line’ that constitutes the
internationally recognized border, and started rounding up livestock, taking
seven cows.
Lebanon and Israel are still in a formal state of war
and have long contested their land and maritime borders.
Israeli Defense Forces did not immediately respond to
a request for comment.
“For twenty years and more these cows are there, from
the time of the grandparents of our grandparents and this is the first time
that someone takes them,” villager Kamal al-Ahmad, who lost three cows in the
incident, told Reuters.
“I don’t know if they did this as a challenge or
what?”
A cow is worth around $2,000, meaning the loss of an
animal is no small matter to the farmers who are already living through the
tough reality of Lebanon’s ongoing financial crisis.
The area near a river where the Wazzani cows graze is
only around 200 meters away from Israel.
The two countries disagree over a border wall Israel
started building in 2018.
A UN peacekeeping force monitors the boundary since
Israel’s military withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, ending a 22-year
occupation.
“We are aware of the alleged incident and we are in
touch with both parties in relation to this issue,” the UN Interim Forces in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Andrea Tenenti, told Reuters by phone.
The two countries are also in a maritime dispute over
an area in the sea on the edge of three Lebanese offshore energy blocks.
“God help these people, this is their livelihood,”
Ahmad al-Mohammed, the head of the Wazzani municipality, said of the herders.
Not far from Wazzani, in another border village called
Mais al-Jabal, local teenager Hussein Chartouni complained earlier of the loss
of one of his chickens to Israel - earning him the nickname in the village of
‘Chicken Hussein’.
When one of his chickens wandered off behind the
border barbed wire, it was snatched and never returned he said.
“I want my chicken,” he told Reuters, using the phrase
that has now become a hashtag on Twitter.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/Grazing-cows-lead-to-squabble-on-Lebanese-Israeli-border
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US-led coalition military convoy targeted near Iraq's
Samarra
27 January 2021
A US-led coalition military convoy has reportedly been
targeted near the Iraqi city of Samarra in the northern province of Salahuddin.
Iraqi media said a bomb targeted the logistics convoy
on Tuesday but gave no further detail on how the attack took place.
No casualties or damage were reported in the incident.
The attack came a day after a supply convoy of the US
military was also struck by an improvised explosive device in the southern city
of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province.
Over the past months, attacks on US convoys in the
Arab country have become a regular occurrence and their intensity has been
growing.
The attacks come amid rising anti-US sentiment, which
has intensified since last year's assassination of a top Iranian anti-terror
commander in Baghdad.
General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds
Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and his Iraqi
trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization
Units, were targeted along with their companions on January 3 last year in a
terror drone strike authorized by former US president Donald Trump near Baghdad
International Airport.
Two days after the attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a
bill that requires the government to end the presence of all foreign military
forces led by the US in the country.
Currently, there are approximately 3,000 American
troops in Iraq.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/27/643926/US-military-convoy-Samarra-Salahuddin
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Qatar stresses resolve to boost already ‘excellent’
ties with Iran
26 January 2021
Qatar has reiterated its determination to bolster the
already “excellent” ties with Iran, dismissing media speculation that a recent
thaw in relations with Saudi Arabia could undermine Doha’s ties with Tehran.
“Our relations with Iran and Turkey are excellent and
we are happy to witness stability in the region,” Qatari Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Lolwah Al-Khater said in an interview, IRNA reported.
Al-Khater also thanked those who stood beside Qatar
throughout the Saudi-led siege of the country, highlighting the necessity of
preserving peace in the Persian Gulf.
Beginning on June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies
— the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt — severed diplomatic
relations with Qatar and laid a siege against the country. They demanded that
Qatar reduce diplomatic relations with Iran, stop military coordination with
Turkey and close Al-Jazeera, among other things.
The blockade failed to reach its goals, and instead,
prompted Qatar to forge closer ties with Iran and Turkey, both of whom helped
Qatar weather the economic pressure and reroute its flights.
Qatar and the quartet moved toward resolving the
crisis earlier this month, reaching an agreement that would allow the
resumption of commerce and travel between Saudi Arabia and Qatar for the first
time since the siege was laid.
“The Persian Gulf crisis was of no benefit [to
anyone], but rather, it was detrimental to everyone,” Al-Khater said.
“Following the signing of the peace agreement on
January 5th, Arab and Western media reported that the agreement may affect
Qatar’s relations with Turkey and Iran, but the Turkish and Iranian foreign
ministries were the first who welcomed the agreement,” she said, Mehr news
agency reported.
In similar remarks on January 7, Qatar’s Foreign
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani reaffirmed the importance of
preserving ties with Tehran and Ankara, despite his country’s reconciliation
with Saudi Arabia and its allies.
“Bilateral relationships are mainly driven by a
sovereign decision of the country... [and] the national interest,” said the top
Qatari diplomat in an interview with the Financial Times. “So, there is no
effect on our relationship with any other country,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded
to Qatar’s agreement with Saudi Arabia by congratulating Doha for the success
of “its brave resistance to pressure and extortion.”
In a tweet on January 5, Zarif also addressed other
Arab countries of the region, noting, “Iran is neither an enemy nor threat.
Enough scapegoating—especially with your reckless patron on his way out. Time
to take our offer for a strong region. #HOPE.”
He was referring to the Hormuz Peace Initiative (HOPE)
that Iran presented to the United Nations in 2019 with the aim of promoting
collective neighborly efforts to ensure the region’s security, free from
foreign interference.
Following the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, Qatar
called on member states of the Saudi-led Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
to enter talks with Iran and work to patch up the differences, saying Doha was
ready to mediate such negotiations.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/26/643885/Qatar-voices-determination-to-bolster-Iran-ties
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US attempts to destabilize region through supporting
terrorism: Iraqi MP
26 January 2021
An Iraqi legislator has warned against the Unites
States’ attempts to disrupt peace and security in the Middle East through
supporting terrorism, saying Washington is even ready to set entire Iraq on
fire so it can keep its military forces in the Arab country.
Karim Alaiwi, a legislator from the Fatah (Conquest)
alliance and a member of the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi legislature,
told Arabic-language Baghdad Today warned against the policies of new US
President Joe Biden towards Iraq, reminding the government that Daesh
terrorists started their activities during the reign of Democrats.
“The Daesh terror group became active during the
former and current presidencies of the [US] Democratic Party. Washington’s
policy is to disrupt security and stability in the Middle East, especially in
Iraq,” Alaiwi said.
He added, “The United States has supported and
financially sponsored most of terrorist operations in Iraq, and has protected
leaders of the Daesh terrorist group in many parts of the country.”
The Iraqi lawmaker highlighted that there are areas in
Iraq where Daesh is still active, saying Washington is preventing military flights
over those regions.
Washington, he said, is ready to “burn” entire Iraq so
it will have a pretext to prolong its military presence in the Arab country.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for a rare twin
bombing attack that tore through a busy area of central Baghdad on January 21,
killing at least 32 people and wounding 110 others.
Yahya Rasool, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of
Defense, said one of the two bombers lured a crowd of people towards him in a
market in the central Tayaran Square by feigning illness, only to detonate his
explosives.
The second bomber struck as people helped victims of
the first attack, Rasool added.
Iraq declared victory over Daesh in December 2017
after a three-year counter-terrorism military campaign.
The terror outfit’s remnants, though, keep staging
sporadic attacks across Iraq, attempting to regroup and unleash a new era of
violence.
Daesh has intensified its terrorist attacks in Iraq
since January 2020, when the United States assassinated top Iranian anti-terror
commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the
deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), along with their
companions in a drone strike authorized by former US president Donald Trump
near Baghdad International Airport.
Following the assassinations, the Iraqi parliament
approved a bill demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by
the United States from the country.
The US began the drawdown under the administration of
ex-president Donald Trump, but it has said a number of troops will remain in
the Arab country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/26/643869/US-attempts-to-destabilize-region-through-supporting-terrorism-Iraqi-MP
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Africa
Ethiopia says no border talks until Sudan leaves
contested land amid rising tensions
26 January 2021
Ethiopia said Tuesday it would not engage in border
talks with Sudan until Sudanese troops withdrew from contested land,
potentially complicating efforts to defuse a dispute that has fueled deadly
clashes in recent weeks.
The two Horn of Africa nations have long been at odds
over the Al-Fashaqa region, where Ethiopian farmers cultivate fertile land
claimed by Sudan.
Since early December Sudan has accused Ethiopian
“forces and militias” of ambushing Sudanese troops along the border, while
Ethiopia has accused Sudan of killing “many civilians” in attacks involving
“heavy machine guns.”
The two sides held border talks last month, and Sudan
declared in late December that its army had restored control over all border
territory that had been taken over by Ethiopian farmers.
Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti told a
press conference Tuesday his country was committed to a “peaceful” resolution
of the standoff but wanted Sudan to pull back.
“For us to negotiate, our precondition is Sudan
returns to the previous land it controlled. They should return to the status
quo, and then we can return to negotiation,” he said.
In 1902, a deal to draw up the border was struck
between Britain, the colonial power in Sudan at the time, and Ethiopia, but it
lacked clear demarcation lines.
During a visit to Sudan last week, British Foreign
Secretary Dominic Raab “pressed the need to secure a peaceful resolution
through diplomatic means,” his office said in a statement.
Raab also visited Ethiopia.
His trip came a week after Sudan alleged that an
Ethiopian military aircraft had entered its airspace and banned aircraft from
flying over the border zone.
The Al-Fashaqa region – which has seen sporadic
clashes over the years – borders Ethiopia’s troubled Tigray region where deadly
conflict erupted in November between Ethiopia’s federal and Tigray’s regional
forces.
The fighting sent some 60,000 Ethiopian refugees into
Sudan.
Dina has previously accused Sudanese military officers
of trying to take advantage of fighting in Tigray to press Khartoum’s
territorial claims in Al-Fashaqa.
The Sudanese-Ethiopian tensions come at a delicate
time for the two countries, who along with Egypt have recently hit another
impasse in talks over the massive Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue
Nile River.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/01/26/Ethiopia-says-no-border-talks-until-Sudan-leaves-contested-land-amid-rising-tensions
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Tunisian protester dies after police clashes, fuelling
new confrontations
26 January 2021
A Tunisian protester injured during clashes with
police has died in hospital, state media reported on Monday, leading to more
violent confrontations between demonstrators and security services in the town
of Sbeitla.
Haykel Rachdi’s family told local media he was struck
by a tear gas canister after joining the protests that erupted this month on
the anniversary of Tunisia’s 2011 revolution that introduced democracy.
The Public Prosecutor’s office in Kasserine, the
biggest city near Sbeitla, about three hours south of the capital, Tunis, has
ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of Rachdi’s death, the state news
agency, TAP, said.
After news of his death, a group of young men tried to
storm and torch the police station in Sbeitla, leading to more clashes, TAP
reported.
It raised the temperature ahead of demonstrations over
inequality and police abuses planned on Tuesday in Tunis and other cities and
backed by rights groups.
At a protest in central Tunis on Saturday,
demonstrators were stopped from accessing the main central boulevard, but
hundreds marched through the city center chanting: “The people want the fall of
the regime.”
Although Tunisia has free elections and greater
freedom of speech than its neighbors, its revolution has failed to deliver
material benefits for most citizens with an economy that has faltered for years
and declining public services.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/01/26/Tunisian-protester-dies-after-police-clashes-fueling-new-clashes
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UN special envoy arrives in Sudan
27 January 2021
Mohamed Ali Fazari
The UN new special envoy to Sudan has arrived in the
African country on Thursday to support Sudanese authorities through the
political transition.
The United Nations allocated 34 million dollar to its
Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan also known as UNITAMS for one
year. It was announced by the UNITAMS national coordinator, Omer Al-sheikh
Al-hussien with the arrival of the new representative of the Secretary-General
of the mission Volker Peretz to Sudan.
The headquarters of the mission is in Khartoum with
eight regional offices in Darfur and East Sudan and other regions.
Earlier this month the world body announced the
appointment of German professor Volker Perthes as the new Special
Representative to Sudan.
On June 3, the UN Security Council approved the
establishment of a political mission in Sudan to support democratic transition
and peace implementation, in response to a request by Prime Minister Abdallah
Hamdok.
The UN representative to Sudan position had been
vacant since June 2020. The aim of the mission has been to support authorities
through the political transition that started with the ouster of former
president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/27/643923/Sudan-UN-special-envoy
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Tunisians Protest Once Again Against Social Injustice
And Police Abuse
26 January 2021
People in Tunisia have once again taken to the streets
to protest social injustice and police abuse, after more than a week of
demonstrations despite a ban on gatherings over the coronavirus pandemic.
The protesters, in their hundreds, marched toward the
heavily barricaded parliament in the capital, Tunis, on Tuesday as lawmakers
were debating a controversial government reshuffle proposed by Prime Minister
Hichem Mechichi.
Riot police blocked the demonstrators from gathering
in front of the parliament, with reports saying the forces used water cannons
to disperse the protesters.
“The government that only uses police to protect
itself from the people — it has no more legitimacy,” said Salem Ben Saleh, a
protester at the Tuesday march.
“We are here today in protest at the ruling system,
against the oppression, the injustice, and the corruption. They have been making
calculations and adjustments but only for the benefit of power and only power,
this is why we have come here against this corrupt system,” said Rafiq Aly,
another protester.
Some 30 civil society groups have called for the
continuation of protests despite police violence, which has led to the death of
a protester over the past week.
Tunisia has been witnessing a wave of protests against
inequality and police brutality this month after a video went viral showing an
officer mishandling a shepherd.
The latest demonstration came despite a ban on
gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has exacerbated the North
African country’s economic and political crises.
The Tunisian prime minister announced a major cabinet
reshuffle on January 16, amid the unprecedented economic crisis in the country,
but the anti-government protests have since continued unabated.
A decade ago, Tunisia was beset by violence following
a massive uprising, sparked after a fruit seller set himself ablaze in the
central town of Sidi Bouzid following an altercation with a police officer.
That uprising led to the downfall of long-time ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The revolt inspired other revolutions in a host of
Arab dictatorships across the Middle East and North Africa. However, Tunisia
was the only nation among other
ab countries in the region that maintained a smooth,
peaceful transition to democracy.
Since general elections in 2019, the political class
in Tunisia has been more fragmented than ever and paralyzed by infighting.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/26/643913/Tunisians-protest-once-again-against-social-injustice
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Nigerian police kill two Sheikh Zakzaky supporters in
Abuja
26 January 2021
Police in Nigeria have shot dead at least two
protesters demonstrating against the continued detention of Sheikh Ibrahim
al-Zakzaky and his wife, Mallimah Zeenat, who have been held for several years
on trumped-up charges.
Many protesters also sustained injuries as the
Nigerian security forces attacked a popular rally of Sheikh Zakzaky’s
supporters in the Maitama district of the capital, Abuja, the London-based
Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) reported on Tuesday.
The massive protest rally was organized on Monday and
continued into Tuesday against Sheikh Zakzaky’s arrest and trial.
The latest demonstrations erupted in response to the
revelation that Zakzaky’s wife has contracted COVID-19 while in police custody.
The rally also comes as Nigeria’s Kaduna State Court
adjourned the trial of the couple until March.
Those attending the protests called for the immediate
and unconditional release of Zakzaky, who is the leader of the Islamic Movement
in Nigeria (IMN).
The IHRC made the plea with Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, reminding the illegal grounds on which the duo
was being kept.
“Mallimah tested positive for COVID-19 this week in
Kaduna state prison,” the IHRC said, referring to the facility in the
northwestern city of Kaduna where they are being kept. Their release, it added,
is necessary “to protect them from the spread of COVID-19 in the country’s
jails.”
IHRC chief Massoud Shadjareh also said, “It is nothing
short of scandalous that justice continues to be denied to both Mallimah and
Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky even after six years in custody during which the
authorities have failed to bring any conviction and in which scores have been
murdered in cold blood for protesting the injustice.”
“How long is the international community going to
allow the Nigerian government to continue murdering its own citizens?” he said.
More than five years have passed since hundreds of
Muslims were killed in a massacre in the Nigerian city of Zaria. In 2015, at
least 348 civilians were killed and 347 bodies were secretly buried, according
to the official account. The real death toll is said to have been much higher.
The massacre took place when the Nigerian army stormed
a religious ceremony, organized by the IMN, which represents the Shia Muslim
minority in the country.
Not only has the Nigerian government refrained from
paying compensation for the lives it took, it has also incarcerated followers
of the movement and their leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, whose health is deteriorating
in prison.
In 2016, Nigeria’s federal high court ordered
Zakzaky’s unconditional release from jail following a trial, but the Nigerian
government has so far refused to set him free.
Zakzaky was charged in April 2018 with murder,
culpable homicide, unlawful assembly and disruption of public peace, among
other accusations. He has vehemently rejected all those charges.
Sheikh Zakzaky was due to appear in court in September
last year to face judgement on an application asking for the dismissal of the
case against him, but the trial was adjourned to January this year, something
observers said could put Sheikh’s life at risk.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/26/643908/Nigerian-police-kill-two-Sheikh-Zakzaky-supporters-in-Abuja
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Kenya: KDF Guns Down Terror Suspect, Injures Dozens
24 JANUARY 2021
Security forces have shot dead a suspected terrorist
and injured several others as the government turns the screws on Somalia-based
militant group Al-Shabaab.
Special Operation Group (SOG), which is undertaking an
operation in Banisa and Mandera North, gunned down the suspect and injured
several others, according to a security brief.
"SOG team, which was conducting patrol operations
at Ashabito, received information on the presence of Al-Shabaab militants in
Ali Wol dam, about 14 kilometres north of Ashabito. The team responded
immediately, where they encountered a group of five militants," reads the
report.
The team gunned down one militant and recovered an
AK-47 rifle, money and a hand set radio.
The SOG team drawn from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF)
spent the better part of yesterday tracking down other terrorists believed to
have escaped with gunshot wounds.
"We're firmly on the ground and a lot is
happening, including flashing out the enemy. We shall continue with our
operation," said Mandera County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha.
Senior security officers in Mandera are upbeat on
winning the war the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, which has successfully
carried out attacks in the region in the past one month, is waging.
Police custody
At least five suspects are in police custody.
On Thursday, a court in Mandera allowed police to hold
three suspects for 14 days as they conclude investigations. They were
identified as Ali Ibrahim, Abdikarim Maalim Hassan and Edin Ibrein Dalacha.
Ibrahim and Hassan are reportedly Kenyan, while
Dalacha is believed to be Ethiopian.
In a sworn affidavit, Mr Boaz Kurgat, a police
officer, told the court a source indicated that Ibrahim was involved in an
alShabaab attack on January 11, where a civilian vehicle was attacked and its
occupants kidnapped.
He was arrested at Shimbir Fatuma township on arrival
from Banisa.
Maalim was arrested at Dandu last Monday, while Edin
Dalacha was picked up by security officers at Takaba on the same day.
Dalacha is suspected of supplying the terrorists in
Mandera with foodstuff.
On January 15, police on patrol in Banisa at Wako
Dadacha village battled the militants at a water point, leaving a civilian dead
and another injured.
A security brief indicated that the militants used
herders as a shield before escaping.
On January 8, Mandera Governor Ali Roba raised the
alarm on the return of the militant group in the county.
He said the militants controlled more than a half the
county and that all roads were being manned by the terrorists. The State
dismissed the claims.
The spat between the governor and State agencies in
Mandera was followed by a series of attacks, including an ambush on a bus in
Banisa on January 11. The bus was heading to Nairobi
Non-locals on board
Three people were kidnapped on the same day after
their vehicle was hit by an explosive along Banisa-Takaba road. The three were
found alive a week later.
On January 12, militants stopped a bus plying the
Mandera-Nairobi road immediately after entering Wajir County.
The militants, who claimed to be looking for
non-locals on board, took Sh40,000 from the bus conductor as well as
travellers' belongings.
On January 13, the militants vandalised a
telecommunication mast at Darkale. They attempted to vandalise another mast at
Didkuro in Mandera West on the same day.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202101250231.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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Mideast
Turkey faces mysterious jihadi enemies in Idlib
Fehim Tastekin
Jan 25, 2021
Obscure jihadist groups have stepped up attacks on
Turkish forces in Syria’s rebel-held province of Idlib, adding to Turkey’s
dilemmas amid the fragile status quo in the region.
Al-Qaeda-inspired groups such as Hurras al-Din stood
out as potential troublemakers when Turkish forces began to reinforce their
presence around the key M4 highway last year, coordinating with Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham (HTS), the dominant rebel group in Idlib. Caucasian fighters,
concentrated in Jisr al-Shughur and the Latakia countryside, were not seen as
an immediate threat, though they share the jihadi ideology.
The attacks on the Turkish forces, however, have come
from unexpected assailants.
A group calling itself the Khattab al-Shishani Brigade
claimed the first three attacks, which targeted Turkish-Russian patrols along
the M4 on July 14, July 17 and Aug. 25. “Shishani” means “Chechen” in Arabic
and has become the hallmark of Chechen-led groups in Syria. After the July 14
car bomb attack, Russia said three of its soldiers were injured, while Turkey
spoke only of damage to vehicles. A statement from the assailants, meanwhile,
slammed the major jihadi groups in the region for inaction against the
Turkish-Russian patrols. It contained quotes from al-Qaeda founder Osama bin
Laden and referred to Russian soldiers as “crusaders” and Turkish forces and
HTS as “apostates.”
Then, on Aug. 27, a group called the Ansar Abu Bakr
Al-Siddiq Squadron claimed a car bomb attack near a Turkish observation post
near Jisr al-Shughur, lauding the suicide bomber who drove the vehicle. A
second attack by the same group killed a Turkish soldier and wounded another
near Ariha Sept. 6. The most recent attack claimed by the group targeted a
Turkish outpost in the western Aleppo countryside Jan. 16. Its statement said a
“sniper detachment” attacked “one of the main bases of the Turkish NATO army,”
while local reports said three soldiers were injured.
An equally obscure third faction, calling itself the
Abdullah bin Unais Group, rained rocket-propelled grenades on Turkish forces
Jan. 4-5 before attacking an HTS checkpoint Jan. 8. In its first ever
statement, the group called HTS “apostate” and accused it of betraying Islam
and the jihadi struggle against invaders.
The almost identical jargon of the three groups might
suggest they are linked to a common center, but given their shared al-Qaeda
ideology, the similarities in rhetoric are hardly unusual.
A number of radical factions in Idlib had openly
objected to the Turkish-Russian patrols, initiated under a bilateral deal in
March 2020, but they have kept quiet as the three aforementioned groups — all
unheard of before — mounted their attacks. This brings to mind three
possibilities. First, the new groups might be comprised of jihadists who
defected from factions reluctant to confront Turkey. Such schisms have become
commonplace in the Syrian war, but it is too early to conclude that those
groups are really splinters acting independently. Second, the new names might
be simply fronts for radical factions unwilling to openly antagonize Turkey.
Finally, they might be a cover for Islamic State cells wary of brandishing
their own flag in a region where they have made too many enemies.
Various Salafi jihadis — with or without links to IS —
have advocated jihad against Turkey as part of internal debates, referring to
Turkey as an “infidel” state and its government as unIslamic.
For groups bearing the “Shishani” tag, the war in
Syria is not only about fighting “infidels” but also about score settling with
Russia over a lost war in Chechnya. Turkey, however, has not faced any open
enmity from the Chechens. They continue to see Turkey as a safe haven, despite
Ankara’s rapprochement with Moscow and a series of assassinations of Chechen
exiles in Turkey, blamed on Russian intelligence or hit men from Chechnya’s
pro-Russian leader.
After the eruption of the Syrian war, Turkish
intelligence dragged many Chechens along to Syria, where they earned a
reputation as tough fighters. Despite their shift to jihadism, the Chechens
have continued to set Turkey apart, never openly calling it an enemy. No doubt
their attitude has had a pragmatic aspect, as many Chechens take refuge in
Turkey or use it as a route from the Caucasus to Europe. The same goes for
Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Uighur fighters in Syria.
For the jihadi groups in Idlib, Syrian government
control of the M4 highway, which connects Latakia and Aleppo, would mean the
end of the game. Jisr al-Shughur, the main base of foreign jihadis, lies on M4
as well. The Turkish-Russian patrols, which aim to reopen the road to traffic,
caused a rift in jihadi ranks from the very outset. For those bent on
resistance, opposing the patrols became synonymous with challenging the
dominance of HTS, which chose to accommodate Turkey.
HTS had opted to collaborate with Turkey earlier — on
the establishment of Turkish military observation posts. It had already
triggered rows in jihadi ranks that erupted into armed clashes after Syrian
forces took control of the M5 highway in February 2020 and Turkey and Russia
agreed on joint patrols to reopen M4 the following month. The clashes saw HTS
dismantle a joint operation center created by Hurras al-Din and four other
al-Qaeda-inspired outfits in June.
The increasing attacks on the Turkish-Russian patrols
amount to increased pressure on HTS, which claims to be the boss of the region.
HTS' failure to rein in the attacks would change the rules of the game.
Following the attacks in early January, the Turkish
forces set up a new checkpoint near Maarat Misrin and deployed vehicles
equipped with explosive-detection systems on the M4. Continued assaults could
force Turkey to take on the attacking groups, either directly or through its
Syrian proxies.
Thus far, Turkey has done its best to avoid clashes with
the jihadis, despite its commitment to uproot terrorist groups in two separate
deals with Russia. It has maintained coordination with HTS and treated it as a
“reasonable” group, although HTS remains on the list of terrorist groups and
controls 90% of Idlib. By suppressing rival jihadi factions, HTS has served
Turkey’s interests. To demonstrate rapport with Turkey, the group even agreed
to the circulation of Turkish liras in Idlib last summer.
Turkey’s expanding military presence through dozens of
checkpoints is, of course, a threat to HTS’ territorial control in the region,
but at the same time, constitutes a barrier against Syrian and Russian forces,
a vital upside for the group.
Turkey continues to reinforce its presence around the
M4, though it has evacuated all its observation posts along the M5 after they
were surrounded by Syrian forces. On Jan. 18, Turkish forces deployed to the
town of Qastun in the al-Ghab Plain, which forms the line of fire between Idlib
and Hama. Several days earlier, they set up two checkpoints near Saraqib.
The deterrence that Turkey’s military posture creates
is dictating pragmatism on HTS. Accordingly, it feels compelled to rein in the
attacks of radical groups, which threaten to disrupt the status quo. Still,
such a strategy is not a guarantee of calm. Mutual salvos have never ceased
since the cease-fire took effect last March. Moreover, continued attacks from
Idlib on government-held areas could easily give Russia a pretext to squeeze
Turkey and escalate operations in the region.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/turkey-syria-russia-idlib-attacks-by-newly-sprung-groups.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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Ending Houthi sanctions raises Iran terror threat,
critics warn
January 26, 2021
CHICAGO: The decision by US President Joe Biden to
suspend some sanctions against the Houthi militia in Yemen has raised concerns
about a possible escalation in Iran-backed terror attacks.
The US Treasury on Monday said that the sanctions — announced
by former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as one of the outgoing Trump
administration’s last acts — will be suspended for a month, pending a review by
newly appointed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
The review is also expected to consider reversing the
Houthi militia’s designation as a terrorist organization.
However, Blinken did not issue a statement on the
decision, which was leaked to some news media wire services, while all of
Pompeo’s public releases were removed from the State Department website and
archived, removing them from public view.
According to some observers, Biden may be using the
decision to encourage negotiations with Iran as his administration moves to
restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement that Trump
terminated.
However, Jason Greenblatt, former Trump administration
envoy to the Middle East, told Arab News that the suspension of Pompeo’s
sanctions will result in increased attacks against Gulf nations.
“These Iranian-funded terrorist murderers attack our
friends and allies such as Saudi Arabia and cause tremendous suffering in
Yemen,” Greenblatt said, defending Pompeo’s sanctions as “correct.”
“This is similar to the situation in Gaza with
Iran-funded Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad attacking Israel and also being
the cause of tremendous suffering to Palestinians. It is a mistake for the
Biden administration to not call the Houthis what they are — terrorists, pure
and simple.”
The call to suspend the sanctions was made by NGOs and
aid agencies working in the war-torn country, which feared they would be
targeted for providing assistance.
Designating the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist
organization” hampers humanitarian work, they argued.
However, supporters of the designation argue that
lifting sanctions will allow Iran to expand its base in the Gulf, resulting in
more terrorist attacks similar to the repeated Houthi missile and drone strikes
directed at Riyadh last week.
The announcement riled many Iranian dissidents who
have been victimized by Iran’s ruling mullahs. Dissident leaders said they were
shocked by the suspension and urged Biden to maintain the terrorist
designation.
“The undisputed fact is that the Houthis are a
creation of the Islamic Republic. The mullahs have been offering ideological,
military and terrorist training to them since the early 1990s,” one leader, who
asked not to be identified, said.
“Iran provides the Houthis with huge caches of
weaponry, missiles, drones and other lethal arms that have prolonged that
deadly and tragic conflict. As such, lending legitimacy to the Houthis will
only undermine the stability of the Middle East region and embolden the Houthis
to engage in further aggression, the primary victims of which are the people of
Yemen.”
Biden campaigned on the promise to rejoin the JCPOA
and restore relations with Iran in exchange for Tehran’s promise to eliminate
its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and cut its stockpile of low-enriched
uranium, but Trump and others accused Iran of secretly building its nuclear arsenal.
Greenblatt described the situation as a “battle of
good versus evil,” adding: “We don’t help matters when we hide from the truth.
We must stand with our friends and allies such as Saudi Arabia.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1798976/middle-east
--------
Are Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis firing warning shots
across Biden administration’s bows?
January 27, 2021
LONDON: Was the object sighted high above Riyadh on
Tuesday a stray projectile with no evident target or a warning shot across the
bows of the Biden administration? That was the question uppermost in the minds
of defense experts and political analysts, just three days after a “hostile air
target” — assumed to be a ballistic missile — heading towards the Saudi capital
was intercepted and destroyed.
Social media was abuzz on Tuesday with footage of
smoke hanging over Riyadh, with residents describing how the windows of their
homes were rattled by the impact of at least one explosion. By late evening,
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis had not bragged about a direct hit on the city of
7.68 million people. The militia’s behavior ran true to recent form: it had
denied involvement in Saturday’s failed attack.
But the fact of the matter is, these could be the
first significant attacks targeting a major Saudi city since the US State
Department designated the Houthis as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” on Jan.
19 — one of the final acts of the Donald Trump administration in its “maximum
pressure” campaign against Iran and its proxies.
Without naming the Houthis explicitly, the Biden
administration issued a statement after Saturday’s incident, condemning the
undeniable targeting of civilians. “Such attacks contravene international law
and undermine all efforts to promote peace and stability,” the State Department
said.
To many political observers, the new Houthi approach
is a complete no-brainer: Threatened with sanctions and political isolation,
and desperate for potential concessions from Washington, the militia is trying
to have its cake and eat it too by launching attacks on Riyadh and not claiming
responsibility for them.
“There is no doubt that after evaluating the international
response and noticing that a claim of responsibility would be counterproductive
— especially after being classified by the State Department as “terrorists” —
the Houthis tried to deny they were behind Saturday’s attack,” Hamdan
Al-Shehri, a political analyst and international relations scholar, told Arab
News.
“However, everyone knows that the Houthis, backed by
Iran, are the ones who carry out such terrorist acts and use ballistic missiles
and drones. They also tried to get on the new US administration’s good side by
denying what happened in the Kingdom. But everyone knows who is responsible for
these actions.”
According to experts, the Houthis have a strategy of
swinging between bragging about targeting population centers and maintaining
plausible deniability. In other words, they pick and choose whichever attitude
suits their objectives, and those of its Iranian patrons, at any given time.
Put bluntly, the brazen strikes targeting Saudi
Arabia’s capital may not be routine tactical operations in a low-intensity
conflict but rather reflective of a larger strategic decision by Iran to put
President Joe Biden’s foreign-policy team on notice.
The Trump administration withdrew the US from the
Obama-era nuclear accord with Iran in May 2018 and reimposed a slew of economic
sanctions on the regime in Tehran. The strategy was matched by a zero-tolerance
approach to Iranian influence in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
The US Treasury on Monday suspended some of the
terrorism sanctions that the State Department had imposed on the Houthis in
President Donald Trump’s waning days in office. Against this backdrop of
apparent policy reviews, a flurry of attacks on Washington’s regional allies
and partners could very well be attempts by Tehran to test President Biden’s
resolve or, with luck, even kickstart dialogue.
“There is no doubt that Iran wants to test the new
administration to know how serious it is regarding the Yemeni issue and the
Iranian nuclear issue, and it wants to negotiate with more than one card,”
Al-Shehri told Arab News.
“It is as though to say: ‘If you are willing to reduce
the pressure on the nuclear issue, we will reduce the pressure on targeting
Riyadh.’ This is nothing but cheap and shameless political blackmail, and the
world knows it.”
“Cheap and shameless” is also one way to describe the
Houthis’ penchant for targeting civilian population centers, often hundreds of
miles inside Saudi territory.
March 26, 2018, saw one of the biggest Houthi
barrages, with Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles raining down on civilian
areas in four Saudi cities. Three of them targeted Riyadh, while two were aimed
at Jazan and the others at Khamis Mushayt and Najran.
Although Saudi air defenses intercepted all seven
missiles, an Egyptian civilian was killed by falling debris and two others were
injured. All of the attacks appear to have deliberately targeted populated
areas.
“Launching indiscriminate attacks is prohibited by
international humanitarian law,” Amnesty International’s Samah Hadid said at
the time.
“A high death toll may have been averted, possibly due
to the missiles being intercepted, but that doesn’t let the Houthi armed group
off the hook for this reckless and unlawful act. These missiles cannot be
precisely targeted at such distances, so their use in this manner unlawfully
endangers civilians.”
Riyadh, which is roughly 850 km from the Yemeni
border, was first attacked by the Houthis on Nov. 4, 2017, when an unguided
ballistic missile targeted King Khalid International Airport — about 35 km northeast
of the capital.
Although the missile was intercepted in flight,
fragments fell inside the airport area. No one was hurt, but the result could
have been catastrophic.
“An attack with an unguided ballistic missile such as
the Burkan H2 from this range is indiscriminate since these weapons are not
capable of the necessary accuracy to target military objectives,” Human Rights
Watch said at the time.
“When deliberately or indiscriminately directed toward
populated areas or civilian objects, such attacks violate the laws of war, and
may amount to war crimes.”
A year earlier, in Oct. 2016, a missile, thought to
have been a Burkan 1, was intercepted by Saudi air defenses just 65 km south of
Makkah. The Houthis claimed at the time their intended target was Jeddah’s King
Abdulaziz International Airport.
Civilians have been in the Houthis’ crosshairs since
the very beginning of their takeover of Sana’a. In May 2015 there were repeated
indiscriminate attacks with short-range rockets from northern Yemen into populated
areas of southern Saudi Arabia, which left several civilians dead.
Fighting in Yemen escalated in 2015 when the Houthis
overthrew the UN-recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. An
Arab coalition, backed by the US, Britain and France, launched a military
campaign to restore the legitimate government to power.
Since then, repeated attempts to reach a peace
settlement have foundered, with the militia’s representatives failing to attend
UN-brokered talks in Geneva in Sept. 2018 and its combatants willfully ignoring
the terms of the Stockholm and Riyadh agreements.
An April 2020 ceasefire announced by the coalition at
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly fell apart when the Houthis resumed
cross-border drone and missile strikes targeting Saudi Arabia.
The conflict, now in its sixth year, has left 112,000
dead and 24 million in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1799041/middle-east
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Iran Urges US to Compensate for Mistakes toward Iran
2021-January-27
Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday that it
is the US that has left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with no
excuse, adding that if Washington wants to see Tehran’s action, it should first
make amends for the past mistakes.
He made it clear that Iran has stood firmly against
the US sanctions for the past years, and it is the US which must show its good
will first.
The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday dismissed the
US Treasury Department’s statement on the necessity for a revision of the
Sunset clauses in the nuclear deal with the world power, stressing that
Washington should stop demands and remove the illegal sanctions against the
country.
“We have not seen anything new about the nuclear deal.
Our position is the same as before, and we should witness the removal of
sanctions and the effective implementation of the nuclear deal by the US and
other parties to the deal. Nothing will happen from Iran’s side until this
happens and until we see the US adherence to Resolution 2231,” Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters in a press conference in Tehran.
“If the other side returns to its commitments and
removes the sanctions in full, and the situation returns to January 20, 2017,
all of Iran's actions are reversible, and Iran will act accordingly. We will
wait for action.”
Khatibzadeh noted that Iran has heard lots of words
from the Americans, saying, “If the new US administration wants to show that it
is moving away from the previous administration's stances and returning to the
implementation of its undertakings, it’s now time to act.”
Iran signed the JCPOA with six world states — namely
the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia, and China — in 2015.
Trump, a stern critic of the historic deal,
unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the
“toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global
criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade, but to no avail
since its "so-called maximum pressure policy" has failed to push
Tehran to the negotiating table.
In response to the US’ unilateral move, Tehran has so
far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with
Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, but stressed that its retaliatory measures
will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual
trade from the US sanctions.
Tehran has particularly been disappointed with failure
of the three European signatories to the JCPOA -- Britain, France and Germany
-- to protect its business interests under the deal after the US' withdrawal.
On January 5, Iran took a final step in reducing its
commitments, and said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on
its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium
enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development.
Meantime, Biden has recently said in a CNN article
that he wants a renegotiation of the contents of the deal before he agrees to
rejoin the agreement.
“I will offer Tehran a credible path back to
diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the
United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on
negotiations. With our allies, we will work to strengthen and extend the
nuclear deal's provisions, while also addressing other issues of concern,” he
wrote, mentioning that he wants changes to the contents of the nuclear deal and
guarantees from Tehran that it would be open for compromise to strike multiple
deals over its missile and regional powers as well as a number of other issues
that have been the bones of contention between the two sides in the last four
decades.
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif had stressed that the US has violated the nuclear deal and is in no
position to ask for any conditions for its return to the JCPOA, adding that
it's Tehran that has its own terms to allow the US back into the
internationally endorsed agreement.
The foreign minister has reiterated time and again
that Tehran would not change even a single word of the agreement, and cautioned
the US that it needs to pay reparations for the damage it has inflicted on Iran
through its retreat from the nuclear agreement and give enough insurances that
it would not go for initiating the trigger mechanism again before it could get
back to the deal.
In relevant remarks earlier this month, Spokesman for
the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi said his country enjoys the capability to produce
120 kg of uranium with 20% purity in 8 months, that's 4 months faster than the
one-year period required by a recent parliament approval.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991108000097/Iran-Urges-US-Cmpensae-fr-Misakes-ward-Iran
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Iran, Russia Ink Cyber Security Agreement
2021-January-26
The agreement signed in Moscow is a significant
landmark in the bilateral relations between the two countries in the field of
cybersecurity in the national and international arena and aims at the expansion
of regional and international cooperation.
According to the new agreement, Iran and Russia will
strengthen their cyber cooperation in terms of security, technical assistance,
and the fight against cybercrimes.
Zarif, who arrived in Moscow on the second leg of his
regional tour today met and held talks with Lavrov at the Russian foreign
ministry.
The Iranian foreign minister also held talks with his
Azeri counterpart Jeyhoun Bayramov, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, and
other high-ranking Azeri officials on Monday.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991107000839/Iran-Rssia-Ink-Cyber-Secriy-Agreemen
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Iran sentences brother of country’s senior VP to two
years in prison for corruption
27 January 2021
Iran has sentenced the brother of the country’s senior
vice president to two years in prison on corruption charges, the website of the
Iranian judiciary reported Tuesday.
According to the judiciary’s spokesman, Gholamhossein
Esmaili, the verdict for Mahdi Jahangiri, the brother of Eshaq Jahangiri, is
final and cannot be appealed.
Mahdi Jahangiri was on the board of the Tehran Chamber
of Commerce and was also the founder of the private Gardeshgari Bank.
Esmaili said charges against the banker included
“professional currency smuggling” in the amounts of 607,100 euros and $108,000.
Mahdi Jahangiri was also ordered to return the funds and fined four times the
amounts in question.
Jahangiri was arrested in October 2017 and released on
bail in March 2018, pending trial. Few details of the case have since emerged
in public, though his brother Eshaq Jahangiri was quoted at the time of the
arrest as saying that Mahdi’s detention was “predictable” and “expected” and
that he hoped “everyone will be treated equally in the quest for justice.”
In October 2019, President Hassan Rouhani’s brother,
Hossein Fereidoun, was sentenced to five years on financial misconduct charges
dating back to 2016.
The charges against Fereidoun were brought by
officials who dominate Iran’s judiciary. Iran has in the past jailed allies of
former presidents on similar charges.
Tensions between Rouhani and Iran’s judiciary
escalated further after former President Donald Trump pulled America out of the
2015 nuclear deal and stepped up economic sanctions on Tehran.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/27/Iran-sentences-brother-of-country-s-senior-VP-to-two-years-in-prison-for-corruption
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Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian in alleged knife
attack in occupied West Bank
26 January 2021
A knife-wielding Palestinian who attempted to stab Israeli
soldiers near Nablus in the occupied West Bank was shot dead on Tuesday, the
Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said.
In a statement, the army said that troops at a West
Bank military post “spotted an assailant who attempted to stab two (Israeli)
soldiers.”
“One of the soldiers blocked the assailant’s multiple
stabbing attacks and the commander of the troops who was at the scene fired
towards the assailant and neutralized him.”
The statement added that Israeli forces suffered no
casualties, while an army spokesperson told AFP that the alleged attacker had
been killed.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that “a
citizen” had been shot dead by the “occupation forces.”
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day
War of 1967.
So-called lone-wolf attacks by Palestinians on the
Israeli military are common in the West Bank. Some have involved firearms but
most have been with knives.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/Palestinian-Israeli-conflict-Israeli-troops-shoot-dead-Palestinian-in-alleged-knife-attack-in-occupied-West-Bank
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5 terrorists surrender to Turkish security forces
JAN 25, 2021
Turkish security forces convinced five terrorists to
lay down their arms and surrender, the Interior Ministry announced late Sunday.
According to a statement by the ministry, four PKK and
one far-left terrorist were persuaded into surrendering to Turkish forces in a
coordinated effort between police and gendarmerie forces.
The terrorists joined the terror groups at different
times between 1993 and 2015 and were active in Syria and Iraq, the statement
noted.
The number of PKK terrorists who have surrendered
through persuasion this year has reached 14, it added.
Separately, a member of the PKK's Syrian branch, the
YPG, was being held in the town of Al-Bab in northern Syria on Sunday, an
official statement said.
Local security forces continue their efforts to expose
the terrorist group's activities, the governor's office in southeastern
Turkey's southeastern Gaziantep province said.
The terrorist, identified by the initials A.E.M., was
rounded up in Al-Bab in an operation by local security units and the
governorship, which provides the Syrian town with consultancy services.
Al-Bab was previously ruled by Daesh terrorists who
destroyed its infrastructure and displaced thousands of civilians. It is now a
fully functioning town with a local council, schools, hospitals and a
university thanks to Turkey's efforts.
The city was liberated four years ago in Operation
Euphrates Shield carried out by the Turkish military and the Syrian National
Army (SNA) – then called the Free Syrian Army (FSA).
Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful
anti-terror operations – Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and
Peace Spring in 2019 – across its border in northern Syria to prevent the
formation of a terror corridor, enabling the peaceful settlement of residents.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against
Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and
the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people,
including women, children and infants.
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/5-terrorists-surrender-to-turkish-security-forces?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
--------
Europe
UN report accuses Yemen govt of money laundering,
Houthis of taking $1.8 bln in 2019
26 January 2021
Independent U.N. sanctions monitors accused Yemen's
government, in a report seen by Reuters on Tuesday, of money-laundering and
corruption "that adversely affected access to adequate food supplies"
and said the Houthi group collected at least $1.8 billion in state revenue in
2019 to help fund its war effort.
The annual report to the U.N. Security Council on the
implementation of international sanctions on Yemen coincides with U.N.
officials saying that the country is on the verge of a large-scale famine with
millions of civilians at risk.
The monitors said Saudi Arabia deposited $2 billion
with the Central Bank of Yemen in January 2018 under a development and
reconstruction program. The money was intended to fund credit to buy
commodities - such as rice, sugar, milk and flour - to strengthen food security
and stabilize domestic prices.
The U.N. investigation found that Yemen's Central Bank
broke its foreign exchange rules, manipulated the foreign exchange market and
"laundered a substantial part of the Saudi deposit in a sophisticated
money-laundering scheme" that saw traders receive a $423 million windfall.
"The $423 million is public money, which has been
illegally transferred to private corporations. Documents provided by the
Central Bank of Yemen fail to explain why they adopted such a destructive
strategy," according to the U.N. report.
The monitors said they view it as "an act of
money-laundering and corruption perpetrated by government institutions, in this
case the Central Bank of Yemen and the Government of Yemen, in collusion with
well-placed businesses and political personalities, to the benefit of a select
group of privileged traders and businessmen."
Yemen's government and the Central Bank did not
immediately respond to a request for comment on the accusations.
The U.N. report said that in areas controlled by the
Houthis the group was collecting taxes and other state revenue needed to pay
government salaries and provide basic services to citizens. It estimates the
Houthis diverted at least $1.8 billion in 2019, "a large portion" of
which was used to fund their war effort.
The Houthis did not immediately respond to a request
for comment on the accusations in the U.N. report.
U.N. officials are trying to revive peace talks to end
the war as Yemen's suffering is also worsened by an economic collapse and the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.N. monitors reported "there is a growing
body of evidence that shows that individuals or entities within the Islamic
Republic of Iran are engaged in sending weapons and weapons components to the
Houthis" in violation of a U.N. arms embargo. Iran denies such support for
the Houthis.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/01/27/UN-report-accuses-Yemen-govt-of-money-laundering-Houthis-of-taking-1-8-bln-in-2019
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US should place embargo on arms deliveries, logistical
support to Saudi-led coalition: Houthi
27 January 2021
A member of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen has
called on the new US administration to end logistical support for the Saudi-led
coalition involved in a deadly military campaign against the Yemeni nation, and
instead impose an arms embargo on Riyadh and its allies for their war crimes.
“America should place an embargo on sending weapons,
besides aviation and logistical support to Saudi Arabia and its alliance over
the aggression against Yemen. This is worth reviewing until February 26,”
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi wrote in a post published on his official Twitter page
late on Tuesday.
On Monday, the new US Treasury Department issued a
license authorizing transactions involving Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement
for the next month, as Washington is reviewing a “terrorist” designation by the
administration of former president Donald Trump which took effect on January 11
— nine days before US President Joe Biden took office.
The license allows all transactions involving the
Houthi group or any entity in which it owns 50% percent or more — though not
its blacklisted leaders — until Feb. 26, 2021.
The Treasury Department appeared to be trying to
assuage the fears of companies and banks involved in commercial trade to Yemen,
which relies mainly on imports.
Houthi added that any Yemeni assets that Washington
has laid its hands on are money paid to allow the aggressor
American-Saudi-Emirati coalition to continue murdering women and children and
subjecting the country to starvation and destruction.
The Trump administration’s last-minute “terrorist”
designation appeared to be a desperate attempt to step up pressure on the
popular Houthi movement after the Saudi regime failed to fulfill the objectives
of over five years of war on Yemen, despite all the support it received from
the US and other Western states.
The Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by the Yemeni
armed forces and allied popular groups, has been successfully defending Yemen
against the Saudi aggression, leaving Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the
county.
Trump had long overlooked and defended the Saudi-led
coalition’s acts of aggression in Yemen in favor of lucrative arms sales to the
regime in Riyadh.
Biden has pledged to “end US support for Saudi
Arabia’s war in Yemen.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/27/643940/US-must-sanction-arms-deliveries,-logistical-support-to-Saudi-led-coalition-Houthi
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France hopes US will change attitude on Lebanon’s
Hezbollah: Elysee source
26 January 2021
The United States under new President Joe Biden needs
to adopt a more realistic attitude towards the Iranian-backed Hezbollah to help
break the political and economic impasse in Lebanon, a French presidential
official said on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has been spearheading
international efforts to rescue Lebanon, once a French protectorate, from its
deepest crisis since its 1975-1990 Civil War.
He has travelled twice to Lebanon since a huge
explosion at the Beirut port in August devastated swathes of the capital, but
no progress has been made to form a credible interim government.
While former US president Donald Trump’s
administration backed Macron’s initiative, it opposed efforts to include the
heavily armed Hezbollah that wields enormous power in Lebanon and which
Washington brands a terrorist group.
“There is urgency in Lebanon and we think that there
are priorities that we (France and the United States) can pursue together,” the
French official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying
Macron’s first priority was putting together a viable Lebanese government.
“We don’t expect a change in American attitude towards
Hezbollah, but more American realism on what is possible or not given the
circumstances in Lebanon,” he said, without elaborating on what Paris wanted
Washington to do.
It remains unclear how Biden’s administration might
tackle Lebanon. The 2015 US Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act
(HIFPA), which aimed to sever the group’s global funding networks, was imposed
during President Barack Obama’s administration, in which Biden was vice
president.
The French presidency official said there were no
immediate plans to reschedule a trip by Macron to Lebanon after he put off a
visit in December when he contracted COVID-19.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/01/26/France-hopes-US-will-change-attitude-on-Lebanon-s-Hezbollah-Elysee-source
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Moscow, Tehran interested in complete restoration of
JCPOA
27 January 2021
Marina Kortunova
Iran and Russia have called for the preservation of
the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it is up to the US to take the first steps
by removing the sanctions if is sincere in its assertion that it wants to go
back to the nuclear deal.
Iranian minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a stop in
Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on mutual and
international issues.
In a joint press conference, Foreign Minister Mohammad
Javad Zarif said Iran will take proper action whenever the United States lifts
the sanctions to pave the way for its return to the 2015 nuclear deal.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
said Moscow and Tehran share the same position on how to preserve the historic
deal, adding that it was up to the United States to take the first steps by
removing the sanctions.
Upon arriving in the Russian capital, the top Iranian
diplomat said Trump’s departure brought along “special circumstances” that
required Tehran and Moscow “to coordinate their positions in this regard.”
With the election of Joseph Biden, hopes for a more
balanced approach from Washington and a return to the nuclear deal have been
revived.
Zarif arrived in Moscow after paying a visit to
Azerbaijan, where he sat down with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
Iran and Russia said they are determined to expand
mutual ties and continue cooperation in regional stability and international
security.
Iran and Russia said they are determined to expand
mutual ties and continue cooperation in regional stability and international
security.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/27/643928/Moscow-Tehran-JCPOA-restoration
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Germany's far-right AfD braces for surveillance
26/01/2021
Germany's domestic security agency is on the verge of
announcing whether the far-right AfD will be placed under surveillance for
posing a threat to democracy, dealing a potential blow to the anti-immigration
party in a key election year.
After a two-year investigation and a report totalling
over 1,000 pages, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
(BfV) is to decide in the coming days if the Alternative for Germany (AfD) will
be classed as a "suspected case" over its ties to right-wing
extremism.
The classification would allow intelligence agents to
shadow the party, tap its communications and possibly use undercover
informants.
The anti-Islam, anti-immigration AfD has often courted
controversy by calling for Germany to stop atoning for its World War II crimes.
Senior figure Alexander Gauland once described the Nazi era as just "a
speck of bird poo" on German history.
The BfV's decision comes at a sensitive time for the
AfD. While it is the largest opposition party in parliament, it has seen its
ratings fall as the pandemic has kept the spotlight firmly on Chancellor Angela
Merkel's ruling coalition parties.
AfD leader Joerg Meuthen has vowed to take legal
action if the BfV decides to begin surveillance, accusing the government-run
agency of playing politics in what pundits have dubbed a "super election
year" in Germany.
The AfD faces six regional elections this year and a
general election on September 26, the first in over 15 years that won't feature
Merkel.
The first regional test will come with state polls in
Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate on March 14, where support for the
AfD is hovering around 10 percent.
- Radical 'Wing' -
The AfD started out at as an anti-euro outfit in 2013
before capitalising on public anger over Merkel's 2015 decision to allow in a
wave of asylum seekers from conflict-torn countries like Syria, Afghanistan and
Iraq.
The AfD took nearly 13 percent of the vote in the 2017
general election, allowing it to make its debut in the German Bundestag.
But the party has long been locked in an internal
battle between an extremist faction and populist, conservative members who are
wary of scaring off mainstream voters.
Germany's domestic intelligence service already placed
a radical fringe of the party, known as The Wing, under surveillance last year
over its association with known neo-Nazis and on suspicion of violating the
constitution.
The faction, led by firebrand Bjoern Hoecke, dissolved
itself last March but many of its 7,000 members remain active in the AfD.
"This gives rise to doubts about whether they
really lost influence," Der Spiegel weekly said.
Hoecke, the AfD's leader in Thuringia state, famously
referred to Germany's Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as "a monument of
shame" and has called for a "180 degree reversal" in the
country's remembrance culture.
The AfD's Thuringia branch and another one in
Brandenburg have also been designated as "suspected cases" of
right-wing extremism by the BfV.
The authorities' concern about the AfD has grown after
the country suffered a string of right-wing, anti-Semitic attacks in recent
years. The risk of violence from Germany's far-right scene is now considered
the country's top threat.
AfD chief Meuthen has struggled to rein in the party's
more radical figures, telling a congress in November that they would not win
over voters by being "increasingly crude, aggressive".
He also rubbished comparisons of the current
coronavirus restrictions with a "dictatorship", as AfD lawmaker
Gauland had done.
Nevertheless, more than a few of the AfD's 35,000
members are believed to harbour extremist sympathies.
One of them, Andreas Kalbitz, was the head of the AfD
in Brandenburg before he was kicked out for hiding his past membership in a
neo-Nazi youth group.
"The AfD could be declared a suspected case
because it is dominated by the radical wing of the party, whose influence has
only grown in recent months," Hajo Funke, a political scientist at
Berlin's Free University, told AFP.
As for the party's chances at the ballot box in 2021,
Funke said "endless" infighting had left the AfD without clear policies,
settling instead on "simply saying the opposite of whatever the government
proposes".
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210126-germany-s-far-right-afd-braces-for-surveillance?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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Southeast Asia
Five Men Arrested in Aceh over Alleged Links with the
Islamic State
By: Farouk Arnaz
JANUARY 25, 2021
Jakarta. The Aceh Provincial Police have arrested five
men, including a local civil servant, for alleged role in a series of terror attacks
and suspected link with global terror network the Islamic State, a spokesman
said on Monday.
The suspects are part of the home-grown militant group
that carried out suicide bombing at a parking lot in the Medan Metropolitan
Police headquarters, North Sumatra, on Nov. 13, 2019, Aceh Police spokesman
Chief Comr. Winardy said.
They were arrested in separate raids on Wednesday and
Thursday, he said.
"One of the suspects identified by initials S.J.
is an employee of the East Aceh district government,” Winardy said over
telephone.
He said the suspects have managed to blend in with the
community by living ordinary lives -- two of them work as construction workers,
one sells fruit and another owns a café.
They were arrested during separate raids in provincial
capital Banda Aceh, Langsa and Aceh Besar.
Authorities have blamed shadowy terror group Jemaah
Ansharut Daulah for the November 2019 bombing that killed the sole bomber
identified as Rabbial Muslim Nasution and injured six people.
When carrying out the attack, Rabbial wore the
familiar jacket of a ride-hailing company to get through the police compound's
check point.
JAD leaders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State, police have said.
Police have arrested more than 30 suspects in
connection with the attack. Among them is the alleged mastermind identified as
Salman Alfarizih, who police said is the leader of JAD’s local chapter in
Medan.
Salman was arrested at his hiding place in East Aceh
around two weeks after the blast.
Further investigation revealed information about
terror plots and secret discussions among the group members after police
retrieved data from a laptop belonging to a JAD member.
"This group carefully assessed their plan before
launching every attack. Their goal was to inflict casualties, they didn't care
if they were police officers or civilians," a senior investigator said at
that time.
Some of the group members also talked about avoiding
wearing striking Muslim outfits during their attacks.
A month before the Medan bombing, a couple believed to
be JAD members carried out stabbing attack on then Chief Security Minister
Wiranto during his visit to Pandeglang, Banten.
Wiranto survived the attack but he was admitted to
hospital for a surgery.
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/five-men-arrested-in-aceh-over-alleged-links-with-is?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1937439_
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Penang Hindu temple completes annual silver chariot
journey for Thaipusam before dawn
27 Jan 2021
BY OPALYN MOK
GEORGE TOWN, Jan 27 — Despite the current Covid-19
lockdown, the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple was able to proceed with its annual
Thaipusam silver chariot ceremony today after gaining approval from Putrajaya
and the police.
Temple trustee Dr A. Narayanan said the 127-year-old
chariot, which carries Lord Muruga holding the vel, departed the Kovil Verdi on
Penang Street at 3am and arrived at the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple on Jalan Air
Terjun at 5.55am without incident.
“Only 10 temple committee members were present
throughout the procession and it was done according to strict SOPs,” he told
Malay Mail when contacted this morning.
He said the ceremony followed the health regulations
to prevent the coronavirus from spreading set by the National Security Council
(NSC) and that devotees were not allowed at the temple.
“Once the chariot arrived, we have committee members
to bring it in and we closed the gates of the temple as per the SOPs,” he said.
The chariot will make its way back to Penang Street on
Friday.
Narayanan confirmed that the Hindu temple received
approval to go ahead with the silver chariot ceremony from Human Resource
Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
He said the temple committee had written to both the
state and federal governments for approval to proceed with its annual silver
chariot journey this year prior to the event as Penang was among the states
under the strict movement control order that prohibits inter-district travel.
However, the Penang state executive council will only
discuss their appeal today.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy who is
also the state Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) chairman had yesterday said the
board along with the Chettiar temple committee had agreed not to hold the
procession this year due to the pandemic.
He said the decision to cancel the processions for
both the silver and golden chariot was made by a joint committee comprising
representatives of the NSC, State Health Department, police, immigration,
customs and three members of the Nattukotai Chettiar temple.
“The Chettiar representatives including the present
chairman, agreed with the decision to cancel the festival including the chariot
procession,” he said.
He stressed that the Penang state government and PHEB
“are not in popularity game with the Hindus in Penang”.
“We have to be responsible and honest in dealing
effectively with the pandemic,” Ramasamy said.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/27/penang-hindu-temple-completes-annual-silver-chariot-journey-for-thaipusam-b/1944381
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Indonesian virus cases surpass a million amid vaccine
drive
January 26, 2021
JAKARTA: Indonesia passed more than one million
Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, as the archipelago launches one of the world’s
biggest vaccine drives to clamp down on a soaring infection rate.
The Southeast Asian nation of nearly 270 million has
recorded 1,012,350 virus cases and almost 29,000 deaths, according to official
data.
But low testing rates mean the crisis is believed to
be much bigger than those figures suggest.
Some hospitals are on the brink of collapse as they
are overwhelmed with patients in one of Asia’s worst-hit nations, public health
experts warn.
“I think we hit one million cases of Covid-19 a long
time ago,” said Pandu Riono, a University of Indonesia epidemiologist.
“We are still climbing a mountain and we don’t even
know where the peak is. This is a never-ending climb.”
There are reports of patients being unable to access
intensive care units and isolation rooms due to high demand – a shortage
underscored by an East Java city’s move to outfit a train carriage to
accommodate the sick.
The virus has killed more than 600 doctors, nurses and
other medical workers, many outfitted with limited protection equipment,
according to independent researchers.
“Hospitals are already collapsing,” Riono said, adding
that the government had “no management, no plan, no priorities, just trial and
error”.
Indonesia’s government has been widely criticised for
initially downplaying the pandemic and, later, for lacking a coherent crisis
strategy.
The country of some 17,000 islands is now rolling out
a huge vaccination drive with frontline workers and other high-risk groups
among the first to get the jab, produced by China’s Sinovac.
Officials had earlier said they would focus on
inoculating the 18 to 59-year-old working population instead of prioritising
the elderly, like many countries are doing.
But the health ministry later said some 25 million
seniors would be targeted after doctors and other frontline workers if testing
shows the Sinovac jab is safe for older people.
This month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo received
the country’s first Covid-19 jab on live television along with his health
minister, several senior officials, as well as business and religious leaders.
Tests in hard-hit Brazil showed the Sinovac jab was
highly effective in staving off moderate to serious virus cases.
But overall, it was only about 50% effective in
preventing patients from contracting the disease.
Muslim-majority Indonesia’s top religious body also
approved the vaccine as halal – meaning permissible under Islam – in a move
that could help convince wary citizens.
Previous vaccination drives have been met with
resistance by some segments of the country’s huge population, the world’s
fourth largest.
Indonesia is aiming to inoculate nearly 182 million
people over the next 15 months.
The country has also signed deals for about 330
million vaccine doses from a string of pharmaceutical companies including
AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Chinese suppliers.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2021/01/26/indonesian-virus-cases-surpass-a-million-amid-vaccine-drive/
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