NEWS
DIGEST, Afternoon
13 March 2019: 05 Rajab 1440:Vol: 11, No:150
INDIA
AIMPLB, Iqbal Ansari, other litigants discuss
Ayodhya mediation strategy at Lucknow meet
Lucknow:The day the mediation panel visited
Ayodhya, the Muslim side in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute held a
day-long meeting in city on Tuesday. Along with primary litigants in the case,
members of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board and
the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) were present. The meeting aimed to
discuss the strategy to be adopted by Muslim side for talks. On Wednesday,
petitioners in the Ayodhya dispute will meet the mediation panel in Faizabad.
Primary litigants Iqbal Ansari, Mohammad Umar and Haji Mehboob, along with
lawyers representing them in the SC were part of the meeting held at Darul
Uloom Nadwatul Ulama. According to sources, the discussion was undertaken in
the presence of president of AIMPLB Maulana Rabey Hasan Nadwi and general
secretary Maulana Wali Rahmani. The deliberations included the SC lawyers
representing the litigants: MR Shamshad, Irshad Ahmad and Fuzail Ayubi.
"Talks revolved around a solution to this-long standing Babri Masjid
dispute which the Muslim side would keep in front of the panel. All Muslim
parties and their lawyers were present, except Mizbauddin, with whom talks were
conducted over the phone," the source said. Speaking to TOI after the
meeting, Ansari said, "As of now, we do not know what the panel will say
to us, but we are hopeful that a just mediation will be done. We are ready to
keep our side and hope Hindus and Muslims live in harmony."Another
litigant, Mohammad Umar, said, "Our lawyers will be part of the meeting today.
A proposal from our side will be given to the panel through them. If that is
accepted, well and good, else the court can help find a middle way." To
represent UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, lawyers Parvez Dabas and Danish Syed
will be present during the mediation. BMAC convener and lawyer Zafaryab Jilani,
lawyer Ejaz Maqbool and litigant Asad Rashidi will also be present as they were
on Tuesday.TOI
Ayodhya case: Litigants appear before
SC-appointed panel
Faizabad: 25 litigants in the Ram
Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case along with their counsels appeared today
before a Supreme Court-appointed mediation panel, in Faizabad, officials said.
Faizabad administration had issued notice to the litigants on behalf of the
panel.The mediation process will take place at a hall at the Faizabad Avadh
University, the officials said, adding that no one had been allowed to enter
the area. Heavy security arrangements are in place, Faizabad DM Anuj Kumar Jha
said. 3-member panel, comprising retired judge Justice Kalifullah, senior
advocate Sriram Panchu and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar arrived in
Faizabad on Tuesday, he said.PTI
‘This has become a joke’: SC slams Assam on
deportation of illegal migrants
New Delhi:The Supreme Court today came down
hard on Assam government and said that it was not treating the issue of
deportation of illegal migrants seriously enough.“This has gone too far. This
has become a joke,” the court said.During the course of the hearing, the court
questioned the solicitor general Tushar Mehta regarding the whereabouts of the
foreigners,whether the foreigners tribunal was functioning and whether the
state’s law and order machinery was functioning to implement the tribunal’s
order. The court gave the Assam government time till May 27 to submit a detailed
report on the functioning of the foreigners tribunal in the state.“How
seriously Assam is considering this matter is quite evident from the absence of
any officer to brief you in the matter.An officer sitting here(resident
commissioner) files affidavit on detention centres in Assam,” says the bench
led by CJIRecalling a 2005 order on the issue, the SC said, “You must have gone
through the order passed by this court in 2005 where this court has said Assam
is facing the threat of external aggression...We would like to know what Govt
of India and Assam has done about it to meet this threat of external
aggression.”Saying that the court did not think that the problem was being
tackled, the bench said, “Assam will have to inform the court about the number
of persons declared foreigners by the tribunals, number of persons detained at
the detention centres and number of persons sent back to the country of origin.
Assam also had to inform the number of foreign tribunals in the state are
considered to be adequate and precise number of additional tribunals required
immediately and near future.” Assam govt informed the SC that more than 50,000
migrants had been declared as foreigners in the past 10 years.Assam govt also
informed the court that around 900 migrants who had been declared foreigners
were being kept in 6 detention centres in the state.HT
Won’t withdraw Central forces deployed in
Assam for NRC work: Centre tells SC
New Delhi :In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha
elections, Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the Central forces
deployed in Assam for National Register of Citizens (NRC) work will not be
withdrawn.Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, said Home
Secretary had passed directions that the 167 companies deployed in Assam will
continue to remain in the state.Last month, CJI had heavily come down on the
Centre and said, “Home Ministry does not want NRC work to go on” and the
“entire effort from Home Ministry, it seems to me, is to destroy the
process”.indian express
Names not removed from electoral rolls based
on draft NRC, ECI tells SC
Hours before UNSC meet, China hints it may
block move to blacklist Masood Azhar
New Delhi :Hours before the deadline expires
for any member at the UNSC to object to the listing of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief
Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, China on Wednesday hinted that it may once
again block the move, saying only “the solution that is acceptable to all
sides” is conducive to resolve the issue. India has been reaching out to world
leaders to blacklist Azhar.“I could reiterate that China will continue to adopt
responsible attitude and participate in the deliberations in the UNSC 1267 Committee,”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing, PTI reported.
The deadline for any country to “seek clarification” — UN jargon for “raising
objection” — is 3 pm New York time Wednesday, which is 12.30 am IST on
Thursday. The proposal to designate Azhar under 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions
Committee of the UNSC— 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent — was moved by France,
UK and the US on Feb.27.Over the last 10 years, China has single-handedly
blocked Azhar’s listing as a “global terrorist” at the UNSC committee. indian
express
24 hours for UN action, US dials Pakistan on
Jaish as India works the phones
Pulwama convoy attack militant buried, father
waits for DNA report
Midoora (tral):A day after Farooq Ahmad Khan
buried his militant son Mudasir Ahmad Khan, he is still not sure if they were
his remains.Security forces say that Mudasir, the alleged key conspirator in
the suicide car bombing in Pulwama, was killed in an overnight encounter in
Tral on Monday, but his father is still waiting for confirmation — the outcome
of a DNA test. “There were only pieces of charred flesh. There was no way to
identify the body,” Khan said at his
home in Midoora village of Tral. “When I went to (Tral) police station, I was
shown two charred bodies. As I started to take one, a doctor stopped me. He
checked something and then asked me to take the other body. When I asked him
how he knew that this was the body of my son, he said there is an age
difference of seven years between the 2 bodies”. “When news spread about
Mudasir, I called SHO. He asked me if Mudasir called home to tell that he was
trapped,” Khan says. “We didn’t get any call from him (Mudasir)”.On Monday, the
security forces said he was the “main conspirator” behind the bombing on a CRPF
convoy on Feb.14. “We have no idea… We can’t confirm or deny it. Only he knows
the truth,” Khan said. He said 2 weeks after the attack, NIA came calling.
“They searched our residence and the officer told me if I could bring back
Mudasir and make him surrender,” he said. “He said he could not assure that he
would not be punished for his deeds, but he would make sure that the sentence
was minimised”.indianexpress
Religious leaders rally behind Mirwaiz, slam
Central ‘interference’
Srinagar :Terming NIA summons to Hurriyat
Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to appear in Delhi in a terror funding case as a
“direct interference in the religious affairs of Muslims”, all religious
leaders across the divide rallied behind him on Tuesday.Signalling a new
faultline, this is the first time religious leaders in J&K across the
Shia-Sunni, Salafi-Sufi divide have come together against what they call the
govt’s crackdown.NIA, investigating a case related to terror funding in
Kashmir, carried out a series of raids on separatists, including the Mirwaiz —
head of the moderate Hurriyat faction — and summoned him for questioning in
Delhi. Citing a threat to his personal security, Mirwaiz declined to travel to
Delhi and offered to be questioned in Srinagar. Earlier, his security was also
withdrawn.Mirwaiz is not just chairman of the moderate Hurriyat but also the
chief priest at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid. “It is a direct interference in
religious affairs of Muslims… Mirwaiz is not just a political leader but also a
religious head of people of Kashmir,” read a resolution passed by the heads of
over 20 religious organisations after a meeting in Srinagar. “Any attempt to
harass him, as the NIA notice is one, will be strongly opposed as it will
deeply hurt the sentiments and feelings of people across the State”.Mirwaiz
Umar took over as Mirwaiz of Kashmir — a 300-year-old religious institution —
after the killing of his father Maulvi Farooq in 1990. It was this institution
that played a significant role in the uprising against Dogra rulers in
1931.They condemned the ban on Jamat-e-Islami and crackdown against its
leadership and activists. “Meeting strongly condemns the imposition of ban on
Jamat, and arrest of its leaders and cadres and calls it a blatant interference
in religious affairs,” said Mufti Nasir while reading the resolution. “Meeting
also condemns the crackdown on the resistance leadership, killings, and harassment
of people”.“We discussed the prevailing situation, especially the assault by
New Delhi on the leadership seeking a resolution of Kashmir, on socio-religious
organisations and the new crackdown,” said Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, Grand Mufti of
Kashmir.On Tuesday, trade bodies of the Valley took a stand against “repeated
harassment of leaders, institutions and organisations.”indian express
J&K: Muttahid-e-Masjlis Ulema calls for
shutdown against NIA summon to Mirwaiz, Jamat ban
Terror funding: ED attaches J-K businessman
Zahoor Watali's assets worth Rs 1.03 crore
ED has attached assets worth Rs 1.03 crore
belonging to businessman Zahoor Ahmmad Watali in a money laundering case
related to funding of terror organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said
on Monday. They said the agency has issued a provisional order for attachment
of assets of Watali under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The
immovable property is located in Gurgaon and is worth Rs 1.03 crore. Official
sources said Watali allegedly held this property for terror outfits operating
in the Kashmir Valley. PTI
Terror funding case: ED looks at role of Pak
High Commission in disbursing funds
Raghuram Rajan says capitalism is ‘under
serious threat’
London:Ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on
Tuesday warned that capitalism is under “serious threat” of a “revolt” as the
economic and political system has stopped providing for the people, especially
after the 2008 global financial meltdown.Rajan, now a professor at University
of Chicago, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that govts across the world
cannot afford to ignore social inequality when considering the economy.“I think
capitalism is under serious threat because it’s stopped providing for the many,
and when that happens, the many revolt against capitalism,” former Chief
Economist at IMF said. Rajan said he believes that capitalism is breaking down
because it is not providing equal opportunities.PTI
Secret Rafale Papers Available To Enemy,
Security Risk: Centre To Court
NEW DELHI: The action of petitioners, who wanted a review of the
verdict in the Rafale case, brought classified documents into public domain,
the government told the Supreme Court today. It put national security at risk
and such unauthorised photocopying of secret documents amounts to theft, the
government said, targeting The Hindu newspaper over its investigative stories
on the purchase of 36 fighter jets from France.The government has asked that
the petitions in the case -- who want a review of the Court's Dec.verdict that
gave a clean to the Modi government over the deal for the fighter jets -- be
dismissed. The government has also contended that those asking for a review
relying on "secret documents" are violating the Official Secrets Act,
for which the punishment is jail or fine. "These documents are privileged
ones under Officials Secret Act and without the Centre's permission, can't be
put in public domain," the government told the court.Those who have
photocopied the documents have "offended India's agreement with foreign
country" as the agreement has a secrecy clause, the government said. The
documents, the court was further told, gives an incomplete picture. The Hindu
Photocopying secret Rafale docs to annexing them in review is a
'conspiracy'; national security in jeopardy: Govt to SC
Eyewitness to murder of his brothers shot dead
during 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots
Muzaffarnagar:An eyewitness to the murder of
his 2 brothers was shot dead in the city’s Khatauli area Monday evening. The
victim, Asbab, was delivering milk to a shop when 2 armed assailants on a bike
shot him multiple times.The incident took place a few metres from Khatauli
police station, where an FIR under Section 302 has been registered against
unknown persons. Asbab’s brothers,Nawab and Shahid, were killed in a
neighbouring village during the violence that swept the region in Sept.2013.
While an FIR was filed at the Mansurpur police station against unknown persons,
on Feb.25 this year, Asbab confirmed the names of 6 accused in connection with
the murders, while recording a statement before a magistrate in the district
court. The next hearing in court was due later this month.While Khatauli SHO
Harasaran Sharma said murders of Nawab and Shahid were not connected to the
Muzaffarnagar riots, a senior official said Asbab’s family was indirectly affected.
“Several cases of isolated crimes were reported in the district including
murders, that were indirectly affected by the riot-like situation. Almost 15-20
such cases are pending in the district court. They were part of a silent war
occurring in pockets. The police revisited many such cases to solve them in
fresh light. Asbab’s brothers’ case was one,” said the official. Asbab’s family
alleged the accused had threatened him after he named them. “They are
influential people and had come to our house, claiming that they will have
their ‘own sense of justice’. We were scared but we had to pursue the case. And
he was killed only few days later. We left our own village, Khedi, since things
were never the same after the violence.Accused took 2 brothers away from us.
And now my husband. We are shattered,” said Asbab’s wife.indian express
Bihar custodial deaths: Kin of youths to
approach rights panel, court
Ramdiha:Families of two men, who were picked
up in a case of robbery and murder and allegedly tortured to death in custody
in Sitamarhi on March 7, have decided to approach the State Human Rights
Commission and CJM Court once the postmortem report is out.Police teams are
still conducting raids to arrest the five suspended policemen of Dumra police
station, who escaped from custody at Runisaidpur police station. The policemen
are yet to be named in the FIR.Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey said, “All 5
policemen could face dismissal if they do not surrender soon. A departmental
proceeding has already been initiated. They will be duly named in the case in
due course of investigation.”Gufran Alam (30) and Taslim Ansari (32), residents
of Ramdiha village under Chakiya police station , were picked up on March 6
from their homes.indianexpress
How anti-Muslim crimes reached a village in
Karnataka after Pulwama attacks
For some unfortunate Muslims from Raichur
district, post-Pulwama anti-Muslim hatred has landed them in a lengthy legal
battle.On Feb.16, Muslims of Talekhan village, Lingsagur Tehsil, Raichur
District in Karnataka had gathered for the Friday prayer when members of RSS
barged in and beat up the worshippers and drove them away. Then, the miscreants
set fire the prayer mats, the green flags of the adjacent dargah, wall posters
of Kaaba and other materials inside the mosque. They even beat up some of the
villagers who tried to stop them and filed a complaint with the police alleging
that they were celebrating the Pulwama bombing and raised Pro-Pakistan
slogans.The police promptly took the complaint, charge sheeted the 6 Muslim men
under various section of IPC. Police arrested them. Talekhan is a small village
with a population of about 1,500 people out of which about 300 are Muslims.
‘TV5 KannadaTV’ picked up the news and telecasted that about 15 people were
waving green flags and celebrating the Pulwama attack. Head of the Raichur Bar
Association, who is of right winged ideology, called for a meeting of the
lawyers and passed a resolution that no lawyer should help the accused traitors
to file bail plea. As a result, no lawyer came forward to help them.
Later, ‘INSAF’, an NGO in Bidar wrote to
state's Home Minister and other authorities demanding a fair enquiry.“A
fact-finding team from INSAF went up to Tehsil and adjacent village but we were
not allowed to enter the village by the police. We were told that the matter is
sensitive and the police are doing its own fact-finding” said head of INSAF
Syed Farhan Ali. He also informed that the families of the 6 arrested persons
left the village out of fear.Razak Ustad, a member of APCR, Raichur chapter
informed that since the mosque stood on Wakf property, APCR requested the Wakf
office to file a complaint with the police about the damage to the Mosque
property.There is a video clip circulating on social media as evidence. Wakf
board filed a complaint and even mentioned the names of the people responsible
but the police in their FIR mentioned them as ‘unknown persons’.“Their faces
are visible in the video where they are damaging the mosque, which was shown to
the police, yet they have made no arrest. Instead, they arrested 6 men just on
a verbal complaint with no evidence,” said Razak. Advocate Niazi, from APCR
Bangalore said, “We can challenge the Bar Association resolution and also file
a case against them.” Meanwhile, after activists of APCR and other NGOs wrote
to the minority commission to intervene, the families were brought back to
their homes in the village with a warning to the locals not to harass them. The
bail plea is scheduled for hearing on 25th March. Due to pressure from civil
rights groups like APCR and INSAF, police finally arrested 9 persons who were
vandalising the mosque.TCN
Jharkhand: Muslim man beaten to death by
sister’s ‘harassers’, brother in hospital
Ranchi :One person was beaten to death and
another severely injured in Karimendin village in Jharkhand’s Palamu district
on Tuesday after they confronted a few men after their sister was allegedly
harassed by them earlier in the day.Police have arrested two people in
connection with the case, and are currently in search for the others
involved.According to the police, a minor girl was allegedly harassed when she
was returning home on Tuesday. Police said she complained about the incident to
her brothers Abdul Vakil Khan and Danish Khan. The two brothers then went to
confront the alleged harassers, and were consequently beaten up, with Vakil
succumbing to his injuries.“A few men taunted Vakil and Danish Khan’s sister,
after which they engaged in an scuffle with the prime accused Deepak Ram. Vakil
Khan was hit with a rod on his chest, and prima facie died of internal
injuries. Danish Khan is also injured and has been admitted to the hospital. We
have arrested Deepak Ram and one co-accused, and a hunt is on to nab the others
engaged in the fight,” said SP.indianexpress
Centre targets MIM, TRS with ‘CBI probe’
Hyderabad:Modi govet is trying to crack down
on K. Chandrasekhar Rao government in waqf matters. A 3-member Committee of Central
Wakf Council consisting of Rayees Khan Pathan, Naushad Ali and Waseem Rahat Ali
Khan visited the Telangana State Wakf Council and interacted with Chairman, CEO
and officials on core issues on Tuesday.Some officials of the board strongly
believe the Centre was aiming to kill two birds with one stone. By initiating a
CBI inquiry into allegations against the Mutawalli of Dargah Shah Khamoosh, the
Modi government plans to embarrass TRS and AIMIM as the Mutawalli of the said
Dargah, Syed Akbar Nizamuddin, is associated with the AIMIM.It is learnt that
at the instance of the Centre, the Wakf Council is contemplating initiating a
CBI inquiry on the role of the Telangana
government for having allowed a damage of about `2,000 crore worth of
wakf properties attached to the Dargah Shah Khamoosh by exercising authority as
a feudal lord in violation of the Wakf Act and principles of natural justice,
citing a report submitted by a former member of the Central Wakf Council.The
matter of Dargah Shah Khamoosh is a unique case of daredevilry of alienating of
847 acres of waqf property none other than by its custodian. The present
Mutawalli of the Dargah became a member of the Wakf Board although an inquiry
against him was pending.deccan chronicle
Come April, Muslim votes to play key role in
14 seats in Maharashtra
Mumbai:The much-touted Muslim card will play a
role in 14 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state with some improvement likely
in the relationship that the community has shared historically with BJP.
Congress-NCP combine, which was said to be the natural home for Muslim voters,
is likely to see a dent in this support base with the emergence of Prakash
Ambedkar-Asaduddin Owaisi political front in the state.“Unlike north India,
there is no fear of BJP among Muslims in Maharashtra. However, there is strong
antipathy against the Congress. Muslim in Maharashtra is willing to hedge his
bets. He will support a BJP-Shiv Sena candidate where he feels he has no
options.He will support a Congress-NCP candidate he feels can challenge BJP
and, at the same time, vote for a strong Bahujan Vanchit Aghadi candidate who
can put up a fight. Muslims have stopped voting as a monolith,” said Ubaid
Bahussain, a political activist who had run a campaign seeking greater
electoral representation for Muslims.Maharashtra’s 1.3 crore Muslims make up
11.56 per cent of the state’s 11.24 crore population. It does, however, have a
slightly higher concentration in northern Konkan, Khandesh, Marathwada and
western Vidarbha.Muslim community will play a substantial role in 14 Lok Sabha
constituencies —including seats in Mumbai — where they make up between 14 and
25 per cent of the electorate. These 14 seats where Muslims will play a major
role are Dhule, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Aurangabad, Bhiwandi, Akola, Thane and
the six seats of Mumbai.indian express
Bhima-Koregaon case: Activists were mobilising
Dalits to overthrow govt, says police
Mumbai: Maharashtra Police on Wednesday told
the Bombay High Court that activists arrested in connection with the
Bhima-Koregaon violence and Maoist links were mobilising Dalits to achieve the
motive of the CPI (Maoist) to "overthrow the government".Pune's ACP
Shivaji Pawar said this in an affidavit filed before the court to oppose the
bail plea filed by one of the accused, Arun Ferriera.Apart from Ferriera, the
police earlier arrested eight other activists, including Vernon Gonsalves,
Sudha Bharadwaj, P Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde. Ferriera
and Gonsalves later filed bail petitions which came up for hearing on Wednesday
before Justice P N Deshmukh, who posted the matter for April 5.The police are
yet to submit the affidavit over Gonsalves's petition.PTI
Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad arrested
once again
Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhim Army chief, has been
arrested once again. He was arrested in Deoband. Immediately after the arrest,
his health deteriorated and he was rushed to Meerut Hospital. At present, his
supporters are protesting his arrest. There are reports of unrest among Dalits
in many villages.Chandrashekhar Azad was taking out a Bahujan Hunkar Rally on
the occasion of the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, the founder of BSP.
Hundreds of his supporters were accompanying him on motor cycles. Many leaders,
including the former legislator of Bijnor, Mohammad Ghazi, were also
there.nationalheraldindia
Buckling under US pressure, Modi govt warns
Indian oil companies against importing Venezuelan crude
Modi government has asked India’s oil
companies to stop the purchase of Venezuelan crude, amid US’ sanctions on the
administration of President Nicolas Maduro.“The Indian government is warning
companies to halt purchases of Venezuelan oil or face undisclosed
consequences,” MM Kutty, the Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas told energy industry executives at a conference in Houston, US, on Monday,
as per a news updated by Bloomberg. The remarks came at the conference titled
CERAWeek, which brands itself as a premier energy event.The significant
comments by the Indian government official come in the wake of several warnings
by US officials to countries involved in purchase of Venezuelan crude.During a
meeting between India’s foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo on Monday, Pompeo urged India to not be the “economic
lifeline” for Maduro.nationalheraldindia
WORLD
Israeli authorities to reopen Al-Aqsa Mosque
compound
Israeli police said the entrances to
Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound will be reopened on Wednesday morning, a
day after they sealed off the gates in response to what they said was a
firebombing of a police station on the site.Palestinian witnesses, however,
said the fire was caused by children who were playing with fireworks. No
injuries were reported, but scuffles broke out between Israeli forces and
Palestinian worshippers, which resulted in the arrest of at least two
Palestinians, Israeli authorities said.Palestinian political groups said
escalating tensions around Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, is
a continuation of arbitrary policies of Israel against Palestinians."Prevention
of the congregation, which wanted to pray in al-Aqsa, Judaisation, occupation,
destruction and deportation of the capital [Jerusalem], will not affect the
determination of our people to remain loyal to the resistance and the
land," Fatah movement spokesperson Atef Abu Saif said in a written
statement.Saif said incidents in Jerusalem was as a result of silence of the
international community before the violation of all international agreements
and human rights. Palestinian resistance group Hamas also decried the incidents
and called on people to be insistent on their will to enter and leave the
sacred mosque when they want.Mustafa Barghouthi, leader of the Palestinian
National Initiative movement, also condemned the Israeli attacks on the
Palestinian worshippers.Warning of Israeli provocation to damage sacred places,
he said Palestinians can fail Israel in its aims by being united and
determined.The closure of the sacred compound also drew censure from Jordan,
the custodian of Muslim holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem.aljazeera
Selling Jerusalem: How Palestinian homes end
up in settler hands:aljazeera
Trump cuts will leave military aid to Israel
untouched
Trump administration spending cuts will not
impact military aid to Israel, reported Globes. 2020 budget proposal that the
White House has sent to Congress includes the full $3.3 billion aid in MOU
signed by President Barack Obama.Obama signed the MOU in his last year of
office.In the Trump administration’s budget document, relevant clause in the
section “Department of State and Other International Programmes” states: “The
Budget fully supports the US-Israel Memorandum of Understanding and includes
$3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing grant assistance to bolster Israel’s
capacity to defend itself against threats in the region and maintain its
qualitative military edge.”As reported by Globes, “the aid package to Israel includes
aid for Israel’s rocket and missile defence programme.”MEMO
Pakistan elected OIC general body’s deputy
chairman
Pakistan has been elected as the deputy
chairman of the general body of the Parliamentary Union of Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an influential grouping of 57 countries, majority of
which are Muslim-dominated. According to an official announcement, Pakistan was
elected deputy chairman of the general body of the Parliamentary Union of OIC member
States (PUIC) on Monday in Rabat, Morocco, the Dawn reported.PUIC is composed
of parliaments of member states of the OIC.PUIC conference also adopted two
resolutions presented by Pakistan related to Kashmir.The election of Pakistan
to the forum comes after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the
inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM)
of the OIC in Abu Dhabi on March 1. PTI
IS facing imminent defeat as thousands of
civilians evacuated from Syria's besieged enclave
Beirut:Even as it faced imminent defeat in its
last populated territory in eastern Syria, Islamic State made a new propaganda
film calling on the few remaining residents of its cold, besieged encampment to
maintain their prayers and seek refuge in God.“Servants of God, keep reciting
your prayers and ask for forgiveness,” loudspeaker of a beaten up van cries as
it tours the ramshackle camp in the video.“Repent and ask God for forgiveness,
oh servants of God, for perhaps the almighty will find a way out for us.”While
acknowledging its military setbacks in the face of a global campaign against
it, IS uses the new film to urge followers to maintain their faith in IS even
in adversity.US-backed SDF said on Tuesday the assault to capture the besieged
enclave of Baghouz, near the Iraqi border, was as good as over.“Tomorrow, God
willing, we will be in paradise and they will be burning in hell,” said an IS
member whom the video identified as Abu Abd al-Azeem. Though the physical
“caliphate” is now in ruins, the video showed IS has not renounced its claim to
be the contemporary heirs to Prophet Mohammed, sovereign over all Muslim lands
and people.“Infidels laughed at, humiliated us in this world, but war has its
ups and downs and the battle is not over,” al-Azeem said, adding that IS leader
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the only Muslim leader on earth today.SDF has been
laying siege to Baghouz for weeks but repeatedly postponed its final assault to
allow the evacuation of thousands of civilians, many of them wives and children
of IS insurgents. As thousands of people flooded out of Baghouz in recent
weeks,many told of severe shortages, with people reduced to eating grass at times.
“Why are we bombed by planes, why do all the nations of the unbelieving world
come together to fight us?...What is our guilt? What is our crime? We (just)
wanted to apply the sharia of God,”Al-Azeem said. IS still operates in remote
territory elsewhere in Syria and Iraq and it is widely assessed that it will
continue to represent a potent security threat after the fall of
Baghouz.Reuters
China says Muslim ‘training’ centers will
slowly disappear
China says heavily guarded internment camps
for Muslims which it calls vocational training centers will “gradually
disappear” if there comes a day that “society does not need” them.The camps in
the far-west Xinjiang region have elicited an international outcry, with former
inmates describing harsh conditions where Muslim minorities are subject to
political indoctrination and psychological torture.Human rights groups,
researchers and US government estimate that around 1 million people from the
predominantly Muslim Uighur and Kazakh ethnic groups are held in the vast
network of compounds. Xinjiang Gov Shohrat Zakir declined at a news conference
Tuesday to disclose the number of what he called “trainees.” However, he said
the figure is far less than 1 million. Zakir said religious activities are
banned in the campsAP
Disputed claims as US air raids kills 11 in
Afghanistan's Ghazni
Taliban and the US show no sign of slowing
down their battle in Afghanistan, even as they conclude peace talks in
Qatar.Meanwhile, on the ground in Afghanistan, the violence continues.US has
conducted a series of air attacks against Taliban fighters, but elders and
local officials say they killed 35 civilians.American forces are refuting
reports of civilian deaths and have called it "Taliban
propaganda".aljazeera
UK parliament blocks May's Brexit deal for
second time
London: With the clock counting down to
Britain's scheduled departure from the European Union, UK legislators have
voted down embattled Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time
this year.A second so-called "meaningful vote" on Tuesday ended with
another heavy defeat for the prime minister, with 391 MPs voting against and
242 supporting the deal.The last time May put the agreement to parliament, in
January, she suffered a major defeat as the deal agreed with the EU over 18
months of painstaking negotiations was defeated by a margin of 230.This time it
was 149. Tuesday's vote came just 24 hours after May made a last-minute dash to
Strasbourg for a meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European
Commission. Two documents were published as a result of the meeting, which May
said would deliver the legally-binding changes to the withdrawal agreement MPs
had asked for.But it soon became clear that those changes would not be enough
to win the vote. aljazeera
Air strikes kill 12 children as chaos sown in
Yemen's Hajjah province
Air strikes have killed at least 22 civilians,
including women and children, as residents in a northern Yemen province say
they are caught between bombs and ground fighting after a month-long battle
that besieged thousands.The bombardment, which has continued on Tuesday, came
as the Houthis overran a group of fighters who had been trying to kick the
rebel group out from the Hajawr area of Hajjah province during more than a
month of fighting.Houthi forces blamed Saudi Arabia for the air strikes, but
the Saudi-led coalition has denied it was responsible.Medical sources quoted by
the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen said the attacks in Hajjah's Kasher
district killed 10 women and 12 children, and wounded 30 people, including 14
under the age of 18.middleeasteye
Flash: views &
NEWS
Beyond optics, Congress has begun flirting
with some of BJP’s favourite campaign themes:
Christophe Jaffrelot
Leftist historians, commentators have a flawed
understanding of Babri case:Arun Anand
BJP’s Blueprint for UP: Nationalism in West,
Plan B for East?Vikrant Dubey
PM Modi speaks to leaders of key Islamic
nations; calls for ‘irreversible action’ against terror
How RBI Dodged RTI Appeals for Minutes of
Meeting on Demonetisation:M. Sridhar Acharyulu
Compiled and edited by
Anwarulhaq (Released at: 7:49 PM)
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