Latest world news
Pakistan: Caught in the Iran vs Saudi Arabia great game
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sunni groups in Pakistan have been harassing and abducting Shias, heading to and from Iran, for quite some time.
By Abu Turab
In a rare show of muscle, Iran has warned Pakistan that it will not hesitate in attacking areas “sheltering” terrorists on its soil if it does not tighten control over its borders and stop cross-border attacks in the Siestan-Balochistan province.
The head of Iran’s armed forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the comments on Monday in Tehran after two weeks since 10 Iranian border guards were killed near Pakistan territory. Jaish-ul-Adl, a Pakistan-based hardliner Sunni group, which claims to be fighting for gaining independence in the Iranian province, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jaish-ul-Adl or Army of Justice was also responsible for abducting five Iranian border guards in 2014. Iran, at that time, had also threatened to send its troops into Pakistan to retrieve the abducted guards. However, four guards returned alive after a religious leader helped to resolve the situation. One of the Iranian guards was killed by the Jaish-ul-Adl.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Defence Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan retorted on Sunday to a recent threat from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman that a Saudi-Iran war will be fought on Iranian soil. Dehghan said that if the Saudis did anything stupid, the Iranian army will hit back and destroy everything in the kingdom except Mecca and Medina, housing the two grand mosques.
He referred to the ongoing Saudi bombing campaign of Yemen and said the Saudis think they can do anything because they have an air force.
In continuation to his earlier remarks, Iran’s Defense Minister said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia has become so “miserable” as to ally with Israel against Islamic Republic of Iran. He was speaking to Lebanon-based Arab language Al-Manar TV network owned by Hezbollah.
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had accused Iran of seeking to take over Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia saying, “We won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia. Instead, we will work so that the battle is for them in Iran.”
In his reaction to the Saudi royal’s remark, the Iranian Defence Minister said Tehran is neither interested in nor will it occupy any Arab or Muslim country.
According to Press TV, a Tehran-based official English language TV network, Saudi Arabia has been a known sponsor of extremist Wahhabi groups wreaking havoc in the region and beyond. It has also been leading a group of its vassal states in a war on Yemen since March 2015.
Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki, was quoted saying to Al-Hayat Arabic newspaper, in December last year, that more than 2000 Saudi citizens have joined radical Islamic terror groups in foreign countries.
On February 22, 2010, Iranian agencies successfully arrested Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of Pakistan-based Jundullah, a Sunni extremist group, while he was flying from Dubai to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He had reportedly met CIA officials in Kabul a day prior to his arrest and was about to meet ‘senior officials’ in the Central Asian country. Iranians forced the plane to land at Bandar Abbas where he was arrested, all this without a single bullet being fired.
Jundullah, or Soldiers of God has been operating since 2002 in the borderlands between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It claims of fighting to defend human rights, culture and faith of ethnic Baluchis, the Sunnis. Tehran alleges that the group receives tactical support form forces with Pakistan’s notorious military intelligence that helped Afghan Taliban. It also alleges Saudi Arabia and CIA for encouraging the armed groups in that country.
Iran’s Intelligence Minister, while addressing a Press Conference in Tehran next day, hailed Rigi’s arrest and displayed pictures of his meeting with CIA officials in Kabul. On February 25, 2010, Iranian state television broadcast footage of a supposed confession made by Rigi, saying he was flying to Central Asia to meet with American handlers at the US-run Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan.
Rigi was hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison in June the same year for his involvement in terrorist attacks in Iran. He was accused of being behind a series of deadly bombings and raids in Siestan-Baluchistan.
Iran has been playing an important advisory role in the fight against Daesh (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria and protecting its western borders from the menace. It has also been engaged on protecting its soil from Sunni armed groups from three sides. Geographically, Iran is surrounded by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq, where Wahhabi-influenced Jaish-ul-Adl, Jundullah, Taliban and Daesh (ISIS) were actively involved in gruesome terror acts.
Experts believe that Pakistan has become the ground for Saudi Arabia’s proxy war against Iran. Pakistan was host to a number of Afghan leaders and millions of refugees while the US was indirectly fighting Russian forces in Afghanistan through Wahhabi-inclined mujahids during the 1980s.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Latest world news
Pakistan: 34 killed, 130 injured after blast near mosque in Balochistan
City Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Javed Lehri asserted that the explosion was a suicide blast
In a tragic incident, nearly 34 people were killed and more than 130 people were injured in a suicide blast near a mosque in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Friday, according to reports. The incident took place when people were gathering for a rally to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Reports state that the explosion occurred near Madina Mosque in the Mastung district.
Mastung’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawaz Gashkori, who was on duty for the rally, was among the deceased. The explosion took place when hundreds of people were gathering to mark Eid Miladun Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad.
Speaking about the matter, City Station House Officer (SHO) Mohammad Javed Lehri asserted that the explosion was a suicide blast and that the bomber exploded when he himself was standing next to DSP’s car. Mohammad Javed Lehri further affirmed that the wounded are being shifted to a medical facility for immediate treatment while an emergency has been imposed in the hospitals.
Local media reports quoted Dr Saeed Mirwani, who is the chief executive officer of Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital as saying that nearly 34 people were killed and more than 130 people were injured in the blast in Balochistan. Some of the injured are in critical condition, as per reports.
Balochistan interim Information Minister Jan Achakzai stated that rescue teams have been dispatched to Mastung. He further added that the critically injured persons are being transferred to Quetta and that an emergency has been implemented in all the hospitals.
Jan Achakzai underlined that the enemy wants to destroy religious tolerance and peace in Balochistan with foreign blessings. He added that the explosion was unbearable.
He also affirmed that caretaker Chief Minister Ali Mardan Domki has directed concerned authorities to arrest those responsible for the blast. In addition, interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti strongly condemned the blast.
Latest world news
Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing: Canada is committed to building closer ties with India despite credible allegations, says Canadian PM Justin Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister stated that the US has assured that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be raising the allegations made publicly about India’s role in Nijjar’s murder during the meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday asserted that Canada is still committed to building closer ties with India, despite credible allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Addressing a press conference, the Prime Minister said that India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. He added that as they presented their Indo-Pacific strategy last year, they are very serious about building closer ties with India.
Justin Trudeau underlined that at the same time, as a rule of law country, they need to emphasises that India needs to work with Canada to ascertain that they get the full facts of this matter. He further mentioned that he thinks it is extremely important that Canada and its allies continue to engage constructively and seriously with India.
In addition, the Canadian Prime Minister also stated that the US has assured that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be raising the allegations made publicly about India’s role in Nijjar’s murder during the meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
He noted that the Americans have been with them in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
Referring to Canada’s charges about the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau stated that this is something that all democratic countries, all countries that respect the rule of law, need to take seriously. He added that his country is moving forward in a thoughtful, responsible way anchored in the rule of law along with all their partners, including the approach of the Government of India.
In the past few days, there has been an escalating diplomatic standoff between India and Canada after PN Justin Trudeau told the Canadian House of Commons that the Canadian security agencies had been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Indian government and killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Latest world news
Google celebrates its 25th birthday with a special doodle
Birthdays can also serve as an opportunity for reflection, even though we at Google are always looking to the future.
The world’s largest search engine, Google, is marking its 25th birthday today with a unique doodle. Although Google Inc. was founded on September 4, the firm has been commemorating its birthday on September 27 for more than ten years.
In order to commemorate this unique event, the organisation today took a walk down memory lane and displayed several doodles. The GIF accompanying today’s Google Doodle changes Google into G25gle. The IT company claimed that it was utilising today as a time to reflect while remaining focused on the future.
Google said in a blog post, the Doodle for today honours Google’s 25th anniversary. Birthdays can also serve as an opportunity for reflection, even though we at Google are always looking to the future. Take a trip down memory lane to discover how we were created 25 years ago.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two PhD students at Stanford University studying computer science in the late 1990s, developed Google. The two quickly discovered that they had similar goals for the World Wide Web, including making it more user-friendly. According to its blog, the duo put in a lot of effort from their dorm rooms to create a prototype for a better search engine.
They transferred the operation to Google’s first workplace, a rented garage, as they made significant headway on the project. The formal founding date of Google Inc. is September 27, 1998, it stated.
The company further said that although a lot has changed since 1998, its goal has not changed, to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google said in a statement that it was grateful to users for evolving with us over the past 25 years and added, we can’t wait to see where the future takes us, together.
Google’s current CEO Sundar Pichai wrote a letter to commemorate the company’s birthday last month. He reflected on the company’s history, its contribution to the transformation of technology, and the way ahead. He expressed his appreciation for the customers, staff members, and collaborators who contributed to Google’s success. He also expressed gratitude for the commitment of both former and current Google employees as well as the ongoing challenge to innovate.
