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Category: FOREIGN

  • Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has criticised “sections of Indian Muslims celebrating the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan”, and called it rather dangerous.

    In a recent video, the Mohra actor drew distinctions between ‘Hindustani Islam’ and what is practised in other parts of the world.

    “Even as the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, celebrations of the barbarians by some sections of Indian Muslims is no less dangerous,” Shah said in a video shared on social media.

    A Wednesday actor went on to say that those who are celebrating the revival of Taliban, should question themselves, “if they want a reformed, modern Islam (jiddat pasandi modernity), or live with the old barbarism (vaishipan) of the past few centuries.”

    Shah also differentiated between what he called “Hindustani Islam” and what is actually practised in other parts of the world.

    He added, “May God not bring a time when it changes so much that we cannot even recognise it. He mentioned his own personal relationship with God, and that he doesn’t need political religion. “I am an Indian Muslim and as Mirza Ghalib said years ago, my relationship with God is informal. I don’t need political religion,” he said.

    Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on August 15 after seizing control from government forces across the country.

  • Female Afghan presenter who interviewed Taliban leader flees the country

    Beheshta Arghand, a female news presenter at TOLO News, has left Afghanistan according to CNN.

    “If the Taliban do what they said – what they promise – and the situation becomes better, and I know I am safe and there is no threat for me, I will go back to my country and I will work for my country. For my people,” she said while speaking to CNN.

    Talking about her experience of interviewing Taliban spokesperson, Arghand added that the interview was difficult, “but I did it for Afghan women.”

    “I told myself, ‘One of us must start…If we stay in our houses or don’t go to our offices, they will say the ladies don’t want to work,’ but I said to myself, ‘Start working,’” Arghand said.

    “And I said to the Taliban member, ‘We want our rights. We want to work. We want — we must —be in society. This is our right.’”

    On August 17, Arghand sat down with senior Taliban representative Mawlawi Abdulhaq Hemad. During the interview she talked about the Taliban’s home searches in Kabul and the general situation on the ground.

  • Man who fell from US plane in Kabul is a young Afghan footballer

    Man who fell from US plane in Kabul is a young Afghan footballer

    One of the people who tragically fell from a C-17 US military plane departing from Kabul on Monday was a young Afghan footballer, according to the General Directorate of Physical Education & Sports in Afghanistan.

    As per details, Zaki Anwari, a young footballer, died on Monday after falling from a US military aircraft. The Afghan National Football Team’s Facebook page confirmed the identity and death on August 18, 2021. The news was confirmed by the Sports Directorate the next day.

    Anwari was one of thousands of Afghans who flocked to the Hamid Karzai International Airport  on Monday, the day after the Taliban captured Kabul, hoping to get on a plane out of the country. He reportedly climbed onto a C-17 plane that was about to depart from the capital.

    Anwari played on the Afghan national youth football team.

    A video published on August 16 shows people sitting on the landing gear flap of a plane taxiing for takeoff as people run alongside the aircraft.

    Several videos circulating on Monday showed people falling from a C-17 aircraft that had taken off from Kabul airport. Later, reports said that several bodies had been found in locations east of the airport.

    News of Anzari’s death comes as the US Air Force investigates the deaths, after human remains were found in the wheel well of one of its C-17 planes that departed from Kabul.

  • Afghanistan calls back ambassador, others after abduction of ambassador’s daughter

    Afghanistan on Sunday called back its ambassador and all senior diplomats from Islamabad following the abduction of Ambassador Alikhel’s daughter.

    “Following the abduction of the Afghan Ambassador’s daughter in Pakistan, the Leadership of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan called back Afghanistan’s Ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan until all security threats are addressed including the arrest and trial of the perpetrators of abduction,” the statement said.

    “An Afghan delegation will visit Pakistan soon to assess and follow up on the case and all related issues; subsequent actions will follow based on the findings.”

    Pakistan’s Foreign Office reacted to Afghanistan’s decision: “The decision by the Government of Afghanistan to recall its Ambassador and senior diplomats from Pakistan is unfortunate and regrettable,” said the FO.

    “The reported abduction and assault of Afghan Ambassador’s daughter are being investigated and followed-up at the highest level on the instructions of PM,” the statement added further.

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has claimed that the Afghan ambassador’s daughter was not abducted and that it is an Indian conspiracy. He was speaking on Geo News’ programme ‘Naya Pakistan’.

    Earlier on Sunday, while addressing a press conference, Sheikh Rasheed said that the case will be resolved soon adding, “Afghanistan’s ambassador’s daughter took a cab to Khadda Market for shopping.”

    “We also have footage of her getting out of a taxi at a Rawalpindi shopping mall,” he added. The interior minister further said that a first information report has been registered.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi says he has scheduled a phone call with the Afghan foreign minister tomorrow and hopes the Afghan government will review its stance.

    On July 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan released a statement stating: “On July 16, the daughter of the Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad, Ms Silsila Alikhil, was ‘abducted’ for several hours and ‘severely tortured’ by unknown individuals on her way home.”

    Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

  • Pakistan, Uzbekistan to make film on first Mughal emperor Zaheer-ud-din Babar: PM Khan

    Pakistan, Uzbekistan to make film on first Mughal emperor Zaheer-ud-din Babar: PM Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Thursday that Pakistan and Uzbekistan will jointly make a film on the first Mughal emperor, Zaheer-ud-din Babar, in order to let the youth know about the connection between the two countries.

    As per reports, this decision has been made to educate the young people of both the countries of the shared heritage between the two nations.

    “[It] is extremely exciting that we have decided now to make a film on the first of the great Mughals, Zaheer-ud-din Babar,” the premier said in a joint presser with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

    PM Khan said that the Mughal dynasty ruled India for three centuries, adding that the region at that time was considered as “one of the richest” places in the world.

    “I think the young people in Uzbekistan and Pakistan must know this connection that stayed for hundreds of years between this part of the world and our part of the world.”

    “We hope that this will be the beginning of a strong cultural exchange between the two countries. As our countries get closer, I will introduce cricket to the people of Uzbekistan,” said the prime minister.

    Speaking on the occasion, President Mirziyoyev threw weight behind PM Imran’s opinion, adding that the youth of Uzbekistan should know about the heritage of Babar’s dynasty.

    “We should say that this is just the beginning. I look forward to visiting Pakistan in order to see those very places that have the touch of our ancestors and to see the life in Pakistan and people of Pakistan,” said the Uzbek president.

  • Qatar announces visa on arrival for Pakistanis

    Qatar has issued a new immigration policy directives to the concerned authorities in this regard. According to details, Pakistani citizens would be granted a 30-day tourist visa upon arrival at the airport for a fee of QAR 100 (4378.22 PKR) valid for a period of 30 days, which can be extended for a similar period.

    Following are the conditions to get a visa on arrival:

    Valid passport for at least six months.

    Confirmed return ticket.

    Polio vaccination certificate

    Confirmed hotel reservation in one of the country’s hotels during the visit period.

    Fully vaccinated with vaccines approved by the Ministry of Public Health and completing a period of 14 days after the last dose.

    Must have a certificate confirming negative PCR test completed during 48 hours from the time of arrival.

  • Hijab can now be banned at workplaces in EU, rules court

    Companies in the European Union can now ban employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, including the need to project an image of neutrality to customers, the EU’s top court on Thursday, Reuters reports.

    “A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes,” the court said.

    “However, that justification must correspond to a genuine need on the part of the employer and, in reconciling the rights and interests at issue, the national courts may take into account the specific context of their Member State and, in particular, more favourable national provisions on the protection of freedom of religion.”

    The cases were brought by two German Muslim women, a special needs childcare worker and a sales assistant in a chemist. Both were told to remove their headscarves after deciding to wear the hijab when they returned to work after maternity leave.

    Naz Shah, Member of Parliament for Bradford West, England has, in a tweet, said that she will raise concerns against the ruling, terming it as “Islamophobic, ignorant and a blatant attack on religious freedoms.”

  • ‘No smoking, shaving’: Afghan Taliban’s first orders

    The Taliban issued their first orders in the form of letter to a local imam after capturing a remote district in Afghanistan’s north, which says that women cannot go to the bazaar without a male companion, among other directives, AFP has reported.

    As per Sefatullah, 25, a resident of Kalafgan district, the letter said “women can’t go to the bazaar without a male companion, and men should not shave their beards,” adding that whoever breaks the rules “will be seriously dealt with”.

    Last month, the Afghan Taliban took Shir Khan Bandar, a northern customs post that connected the country to Tajikistan over a US-funded bridge that spanned the Panj river.

    Sajeda who worked in a local factory told AFP that after Shir Khan Bandar fell, the Taliban “ordered women not to step out of their homes”.

    “There were many women and young girls doing embroidery, tailoring and shoe-making … The Taliban’s order has now terrified us,” she added further.

    The letter issued in the name of the Taliban’s cultural commission says, “All imams and mullahs in captured areas should provide the Taliban with a list of girls above 15 and widows under 45 to be married to Taliban fighters.”

    However, the Taliban denied issuing any such letter.

    “These are baseless claims,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban.

  • Domestic violence surges in England after a football match ends: Study

    The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) UK, which provides a free, fast emergency injunction service to survivors of domestic abuse, reported that incidents of domestic violence in England increase during major sporting events.

    “Not everyone is looking froward to the match tonight, Instances of domestic abuse increase 26% when England play and 38% if they lose,” the tweet said.

    A study in 2014 by academics at Lancaster University looked at the number of reports of abuse to a police force in the north-west of England during three football World Cups. They found that such reports increased by 26 per cent when the national team won or drew, and by 38 per cent when the team lost (other studies suggest abuse is worse when England wins). A new study, published on July 4, goes much further. Ria Ivandic, Tom Kirchmaier and Neus Torres-Blas of the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) have analysed 523,546 domestic-abuse incidents reported to the Greater Manchester Police between 2012 and 2019, alongside detailed information on 780 games played by Manchester City and Manchester United in that period. They have been able to disentangle why intimate partner violence increases after games and to create a timeline of when women are most at risk.

    Research from the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance indicated a match increased the risk of family violence.

    The study suggested that although domestic abuse declined during the two-hour period when a game is played, it started to increase afterwards and peaked between 10 and 12 hours later.

    Meanwhile, a study released in Australia also found out the link between the major sporting events and domestic violence. The study revealed that domestic violence increased 40.7 per cent in New South Wales on State of Origin game days.

    On July 11, England and and Italy faced each other in Euro Cup Final 2020, which was considered as one of the biggest games in the world of sports. Italy defeated England to become champions of Europe again, for the first time since 1968, breaking English hearts in the process at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

  • Muslim women for sale: Images uploaded to an auctioning app in India

    Muslim women for sale: Images uploaded to an auctioning app in India

    The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday said it was deeply concerned that images of Muslim women were put up “for auction” online and shared via social media in a derogatory manner, reports Scroll. in, a digital news platform in India.

    Images of hundreds of women were uploaded via an auctioning app called “Sulli Deals” on Sunday, The Quint reported.

    “Sulli” is a derogatory term used to refer to Muslim women in India.

    The app, which was uploaded on repository hosting service GitHub, has been taken down by the platform after outrage on social media.

    Journalist Fatima Khan, tweeted, “How is this acceptable? What will be the punishment, if any, meted out to the people who made this list?”

    “Muslim men are lynched, Muslim women are harassed and sold online. When will this end?” added Fatima.

    Meanwhile, Pilot Hana Mohsin Khan filed a first information report in the case for putting women “on-sale”.

    “I’m resolute and firm in getting these cowards to pay for what they have done,” she said in a tweet. “These repeat offenses will not be taken sitting down.”

    The Editors Guild raised concerns about the misuse of digital and social media platforms to harass women journalists. “This vile attack is symptomatic of underlying misogyny in some sections of the society, especially against Muslim women as well as those who have been outspoken critics of the current government,” it said.