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Pakistan debates military involvement in Yemen

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Parliament discusses request by Riyadh for fighter jets as Saudi-led coalition continues to bomb Houthi positions.

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

Rival Pakistani rallies have been held for and against the Saudi-led campaign on Yemen [Reuters]

by Asad Hashim, Al Jazeera

Islamabad: Saudi Arabia has asked for Pakistani fighter jets, ground troops and naval warships to join its campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen, Pakistan’s defence minister has said.

Khwaja Asif was addressing a joint session of the Pakistani parliament, which met in Islamabad on Monday to begin a debate on whether to join the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen, where air strikes against Houthi rebels have been ongoing since March 25.

Pakistan has regularly voiced support for the Saudi mission, but has so far not committed to taking material part in the air strikes against the Houthis, who are said to be backed by one of Pakistan’s neighbours, Iran.

Saudi officials and state media, however, have been citing Pakistan as one of 10 countries that are actively engaged in the military campaign in Yemen.

Asif said that while no decision had yet been taken on joining the military coalition, “any violation of Saudi Arabia’s territorial integrity would elicit a strong response from Pakistan”, echoing the position publicly stated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif repeatedly in the last week.

Terming the Houthi rebels “non-state actors”, who had overthrown the “legitimate” Yemeni government, led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Asif stressed that Pakistan, along with regional ally Turkey, was calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

“The situation is grave and might endanger the safety and security of the whole region,” Asif said.

In the last week, more than 980 Pakistanis have been evacuated from Yemen by the Pakistani government, which has sent commercial aircraft and naval ships to aid in this effort, in conjunction with Saudi military authorities. The country is host to approximately 3,000 Pakistanis.

‘Give peace a chance’

Asif, along with Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and several high-ranking military personnel, visited Saudi Arabia on March 31 to discuss the situation in Yemen.

While there, he told parliament, the Pakistani delegation assured Saudi officials that Pakistan would protect Saudi territory if need be, but that it was pursuing the path of dialogue, and wanted “to give peace a chance”.

He confirmed that during this visit, Saudi officials had “requested us for aircraft, naval vessels and ground troops”.

PM Sharif met his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Friday, where the leaders discussed possible diplomatic solutions to the crisis in Yemen, in addition to expressing support for Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif is due to visit Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

Muslim-majority Pakistan is a long time ally of Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. It is also a major recipient of Saudi aid.

Pakistan has been walking a tight rope on the issue, analysts say, balancing its alliance with Saudi Arabia against the possibility of military involvement souring relations with neighbour Iran and possibly inflaming sectarian tensions at home.

Pakistan’s military is also currently engaged in ongoing operations against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its allies in the country’s tribal areas, with roughly 170,000 troops committed to that fight, in addition to fighter jets, the defence minister said on Monday.

The session adjourned late on Monday without a resolution being passed, and Speaker Ayaz Sadiq reconvened the debate for Tuesday morning.

UN: 100,000 new displaced in Yemen since strikes began

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UNICEF says majority of those that have fled their homes since conflict escalated are women and children.

yemen

by Al Jazeera

More than a 100,000 people have fled their homes after Saudi-led coalition air strikes began in Yemen, according to UNICEF.

A spokesman from the UN agency, Rajat Madhok, told Al Jazeera that most of those who have been displaced are women and children.

“Most displacements have taken place from and within al-Dhale, Abyan, Amran, Saada, Hajja. The displaced persons are mostly being hosted with relatives,” Madhok said.

In a statement published on Tuesday, UNICEF, the UN agency that provides humanitarian assistance to children and mothers, said 74 children caught up in fighting had been killed and another 44 maimed since March 26.

“These are conservative figures and UNICEF believes that the total number of children killed is much higher,” the statement read.

The agency’s Yemen representative, Julien Harneis, said children were paying an “intolerable” price, and said more needed to be done to protect them.

“These children should be immediately afforded special respect and protection by all parties to the conflict, in line with international humanitarian law,” Harneis said.

Aden clashes

The comments came as Houthi rebels and forces backing President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi engaged in fierce clashes in the country’s south, reportedly leaving more than 140 people dead in 24 hours on Monday.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, spokesperson for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera that the number of civilian casualties was not yet clear.

“We don’t have a clear account of the number of civilians being killed but obviously the number is increasing due to the strikes and also the humanitarian situation is deteriorating due to the siege and strikes hitting food storages,” he said.

Aden is a power base for Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia as the fighters from the Zaydi Shia sect expanded their control across the country.

As thousands are in dire need of aid, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said that one passenger plane carrying staff was able to land in the capital Sanaa on Monday, but that the organisation has not yet been able to find a cargo plane operator to fly supplies into the country.

Sitara Jabeen, the ICRC’s spokesperson, told Al Jazeera that the humanitarian situation was worsening.

“The situation in Yemen remains extremely critical. The conflict … has intensified, especially in Aden. We are still trying to find a cargo plane that can carry our supplies to Sanaa,” said Jabeen, speaking from Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition has bombed Houthi positions since March 26 and has dropped weapons to Hadi loyalists, but the rebels continue to put up resistance and have said they will accept peace talks only if the aerial attacks stop.

The Houthis swept into Sanaa in September and put Hadi under house arrest before he fled to Aden and then to Saudi Arabia. Backed by militias loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, they control large swaths of Yemen, which is also grappling with al-Qaeda.

VHP calls for ban on Kamal Haasan's 'Uttama Villain'

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Uttama Villain

Chennai: Members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have called for a ban on actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan-starrer Tamil drama “Uttama Villain”, claiming it will affect the religious sentiments of Hindi people.

In their statement to the commissioner of police on Monday, the group alleged that the song “Iraniyan Nadagam”, about the disparaged conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu, will hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

“The lyrics of the song will upset followers of Lord Vishnu. It belittles the conversation between Prahalad and Hiranyakashipu. Hence, we demand a ban on the film,” K.L Sathiyamoorthy, member of VHP, told IANS.

Directed by Ramesh Aravind, the movie is about an 8th century theatre artist and a modern-day superstar.

(IANS)

BJP marks 35th foundation day, Advani not officially invited

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a. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

L. K. Advani. Photo: Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The BJP held its 35th foundation day function at the party office here but party patriarch L. K. Advani was not “officially” invited for the event, sources said.

They said that Advani’s office got to know about the function through an SMS that was also sent to the media.

The foundation day function had special significance this year for BJP, which came to power with an absolute majority for the first time in last year’s general elections, as it has also become the largest political party in the world with about 9.5 crore members.

A Bharatiya Janata Party functionary, who did not want to be named, told IANS that there “had been a lapse” in the way the invitation for the function was sent to Advani.

Party sources said that normally a letter or a circular is sent about a function held in the party office.

They said since many party officials returned from Bengaluru on Sunday and there was not much time to prepare for the function, a SMS was sent communicating the time for the function.

Another functionary, however, said that no circular or invite was sent for the function as it is an event held every year in the party office.

Among the party’s founding members and its three-time president, Advani did not make a speech at the party’s national executive that ended in Bengaluru on Saturday – the first time in all such meetings which he has attended.

Apart from party president Amit Shah, the foundation day function was attended by union ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Thawar Chand Gehlot andgeneral secretary Ram Lal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the BJP to a sweeping victory in the Lok Sabha elections 10 months back, tweeted to greet BJP activists on the birth anniversary. “On the BJP’s ‘Sthapana Diwas’, my greetings to all the BJP ‘karyakartas’ and well-wishers,” he said.

“BJP’s phenomenal growth is due to the efforts and hard work of generations of selfless ‘karyakartas’ who devoted their lives to our nation,” he said.

The BJP would “leave no stone unturned to fulfil people’s aspirations and create an India that is strong, developed and inclusive”, Modi added.

The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980, after its earlier incarnation, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, merged into the Janata Party along with other parties in 1977.

Shah, in his address, asked party workers not to work with posts in mind.

Noting Syama Prasad Mookerjee had laid foundation of Jana Sangh with 10-12 youth, he said the party in its reincarnation as BJP was the “largest political party in the world” with about 9.5 crore members.

“Our journey is the most interesting of all political parties in the world,” he said.

Shah said the BJP was in power at the centre and in 12 states and BJP workers had “greater responsibility” and had to work for the poor, farmers and the disadvantaged sections.

“The party was formed to make India Jagat (world) guru,” he said and added that the Modi government was working to make India a front-ranking nation in terms of development.

(IANS)

BJP MP's brother allegedly runs his vehicle over school director

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Vikramaditya Singh Judeo

Raipur: A school director was seriously injured today when he was allegedly run over by a vehicle belonging to the brother a Member of Parliament due to a property dispute in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, sparking tension among locals.

A case has been registered against Vikramaditya Singh Judeo and his two associates on the charge of attempting to kill the school director Barmeshwar Gupta, Jashpur Superintendent of Police G S Jayaswal told PTI.

Vikramaditya is the younger brother of Ranjvijay Singh Judeo, BJP’s Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and belongs to the erstwhile royal family of Jashpur.

“After committing the offence, the accused are on the run and efforts are on to nab them,” he said.

As per the preliminary probe, Barmeshwar Gupta (44) had bought a piece of land from Judeo’s family and planned to construct a school on it.

Judeo, along with his two associates, reached the plot in a vehicle today morning when Gupta was monitoring work there.

The accused allegedly misbehaved with Gupta claiming that the land belonged to his family which turned into a heated argument, Jayaswal said.

“Subsequently, Judeo ran his vehicle over Gupta and fled the spot leaving him seriously injured,” the SP said.

Soon after the incident, locals informed the police and the injured was admitted to Jashpur district hospital from where he was shifted to Ranchi (Jharkhand) for further treatment, he said.

“The trio have been booked under Section 307 (attempt to murder) and other relevant sections of Indian Penal Code,” the SP said.

The vehicle of the accused has been seized, he said, adding that efforts were on to arrest them.

After the incident, locals staged a protest in front of Judeos’ palace.

However, they were pacified by the police after which security forces were deployed in the region to prevent possible unrest.

(PTI)

Five undertrials shot dead by police in Telangana

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Vikaruddin Ahmed

Hyderabad: Five undertrials of Warangal prison facing different charges were shot dead by police on the Warangal-Nalgonda district border in Telangana when they allegedly tried to escape while being brought to a court in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Among the killed was Vikaruddin Ahmed of Hyderabad, who was accused of shooting down two policemen some days ago in city and trying to recruit youth for the terror outfit he had allegedly launched on his own.

A convoy of three vehicles carrying the undertrials left the Warangal Prison at 8.30 a.m. The incident occurred on Hyderabad-Warangal Highway at around 10.25 a.m.
Police sources said, as the vehicles were reaching Kandigadda Thanda, Vikaruddin requested police to stop for a while to attend nature’s call. The five prisoners suddenly lunged at the escort policemen and tried to open fire after snatching a firearm from one of the policemen. Other members of the police party returned fire killing Vikaruddin and four others.

However, rights activists in Telangana have called this encounter a cold blooded murder. They have accused police of fabricating a story to justify the murder.

Other prisoners killed were Zakir, Amjad, Hanif and Izhar Khan. Warangal SP A.K. Jha and Range IG B. Malla Reddy rushed to the spot. The Nalgonda SP Vikramjit Duggal along with Hyderabad Range DIG Y.Gangadhar too arrived there. Hyderabad IGP Naveenchand rushed to the place and inquired as to how the encounter took place.

Later in the afternoon, the bodies were shifted to Area Hospital in Jangaon in Warangal District for post-mortem. As the incident took place inside Nalgonda District, a kilometer away from Warangal border, the Nalgonda police and revenue officials arrived at the hospital for inquest. Bhongir RDO Madhusudhan conducted the inquest.

The incident occurred close on the heels of a gunfight in Nalgonda district on Saturday in which two alleged members of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and a policeman were killed.

(Agencies)

Amanath Bank Case: "No guilty person will go scot-free," says HC

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Amanath-Bank

Bengaluru:The High Court on Monday observed that those who are guilty of the financial crisis of the Amanath Co-operative Bank Ltd will not be allowed to go scot-free.

While hearing a batch of petitions filed by bank account holders of Amanath Bank, Justice S Abdul Nazeer observed that the persons responsible for the crisis will be punished in accordance with law.

The case on Monday focused on how to recover the dues and loans advanced by the bank. The chorus of dozens of depositors who were present in court was to hand over the case to the CBI. The court asked for submission of the list of depositors to be submitted by the managing director of the bank.

The court was told that action was initiated to recover Rs 48 crore of dues and notices were issued to defaulters.

Justice S Abdul Nazeer asked the bank to recover the amount due from debtors/borrowers as far as possible by June 9, the next date of hearing. “No guilty person will go scot-free,” the judge said when a depositor broke down in the court. He said if necessary, a CID or CBI probe will be ordered to nail the culprits.

(Agencies)

Rajeev Shukla named IPL chairman

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Rajeev Shukla

Mumbai: Rajeev Shukla was appointed the new chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council on Monday, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) release said.

Shukla resigned from the post of IPL chairman in June, 2013, following a scandal over corruption and spot-fixing in the tournament.

He replaces Ranjib Biswal who was the interim chairman of the council.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly and current team director Ravi Shastri were also named in the governing council.

(IANS)

As Death Toll and Chaos Mount in Yemen, Red Cross Calls for Ceasefire

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‘The streets of Aden are strewn with dead bodies, and people are afraid to leave their homes,’ says Red Cross

A Houthi fighter mans a weapon on a patrol truck as he guards the site of a demonstration against Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, in Sanaa April 3, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi)

A Houthi fighter mans a weapon on a patrol truck as he guards the site of a demonstration against Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, in Sanaa April 3, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi)

by Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams

Amid ongoing Saudi-led airstrikes—including a bombing Friday that killed at least nine people from the same Yemeni family—the United Nations is considering calls for a ceasefire in Yemen to allow urgent humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuation of civilians.

And on Sunday, Reuters cited a senior Houthi member who said the Houthis “are ready to sit down for peace talks as long as a Saudi-led air campaign is halted and the negotiations are overseen by ‘non-aggressive’ parties.”

Warplanes and ships from a Saudi-led coalition have been bombing the Iran-allied Houthi forces for 11 days.

However, as Juan Cole notes, the airstrikes “have repeatedly hit civilian neighborhoods in cities like Sanaa and have, intentionally or no, struck soft targets of no obvious military value, including a refugee camp.”

Hundreds have reportedly died, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, in its appeal for an immediate “humanitarian pause,” describedharrowing conditions for civilians.

The Red Cross said, “hospitals and clinics treating the streams of wounded from across much of Yemen are running low on life-saving medicines and equipment. In many parts of the country, the population is also suffering from fuel and water shortages, while food stocks are quickly depleting. Dozens of people are being killed and wounded every day. The streets of Aden are strewn with dead bodies, and people are afraid to leave their homes.”

Summer Nasser, a human rights activist and blogger in Aden, told Al Jazeerathat it seemed the humanitarian crisis in that city “is actually getting worse by the hour.”

If relief supplies and medical personnel are unable to reach affected areas, Robert Mardini, head of Red Cross operations in the Near and Middle East, warned that “many more will die.”

Russia similarly appealed to the United Nations Security Council, pressing for suspensions of the airstrikes to allow evacuation of foreign civilians and diplomats and demanding rapid and unhindered humanitarian access. The council met Saturday in New York to consider the proposal, but made no decisions.

BBC reports that the council’s president, Dina Kawar, who is also Jordan’s UN ambassador, said members needed time to “reflect on the proposal.”

According to Al Jazeera:

Saudi Arabian Brigadier General Ahmed al-Asiri, a spokesman for the Arab coalition, told a news conference that aid “will come when we are able to set the conditions [so] that this aid will benefit the population”.

He said the coalition requires that aid delivery does not interfere with the military operation, that aid workers are not put at risk, and that supplies do not fall into the wrong hands.

“We don’t want to supply the militias,” Asiri said.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reported that three Arab-American advocacy groups—The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus (ALC)—have created StuckInYemen.com as part of a campaign to highlight the plight of Yemeni Americans, currently trapped in the war-torn country, who fear they have been abandoned by their own government.

Bangladeshi Jamaat leader loses appeal against hanging

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Rejection of Mohammad Kamaruzzaman’s final appeal sparks deadly clash between party supporters and police.

Kamaruzzaman was sentenced for war crimes including a mass killing at a site that has become known as the 'Village of Widows' [AP]

Kamaruzzaman was sentenced for war crimes including a mass killing at a site that has become known as the ‘Village of Widows’ [AP]

by Al Jazeera

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has rejected a final appeal by a Jamaat-e-Islami leader to overturn his death sentence for atrocities committed more than 40 years ago, clearing the last legal hurdle to his execution.

Chief Justice S K Sinha ruled that the review petition was “dismissed”, upholding Mohammad Kamaruzzaman’s original death sentence for genocide and torture of unarmed civilians during the 1971 war of independence.

Monday’s ruling sparked clashes between Jamaat-e-Islami party supporters and police in Bangladesh’s southeastern Noakhali district.

Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdury reported that one person was killed and another was injured in the Noakhali riots.

The party also called for a nationwide 48-hour strike from Tuesday to protest against the decision.

Kamaruzzaman was sentenced to hang in May 2013 by a domestic war crimes court for crimes including a mass killing at a site that has become known as the “Village of Widows”.

An appeal court in November last year upheld the verdict, raising the prospect of his becoming the second Jamaat leader to be hanged for war crimes.

Abdul Quader Molla was executed in December, 2013.

‘Notorious war criminal’

Lawyers for Kamaruzzaman, who is the third most senior member of the Jamaat, made a last legal appeal arguing that there were “serious discrepancies” in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses at his trial.

Secular activists who attended the brief court session were pleased with the verdict.

“We’re happy. He is a notorious war criminal. We made several attempts during the 1971 war to capture him. But finally he is caught by the court,” Anwar Hossain, who fought in the independence war, told the AFP news agency.

“We hope he’ll be executed [in] the quickest time possible,” he added.

The 62-year-old’s only chance of avoiding the gallows will be if he is granted clemency by the country’s president.

“He can now seek clemency from the president but it is up to him whether he wants to seek mercy or not,” his lawyer Shishir Monir said.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam told AFP that prison authorities would now ask Kamaruzzaman whether he would seek clemency from the president.

“If he refuses, he could be hanged at any moment,” he said.

Molla was executed just hours after his review petition was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Under Bangladesh’s law, the execution of the accused could be carried out within 21 days and before 28 days of the Supreme Court’s upholding of a death sentence.

The upholding of Kamaruzzaman’s execution order could worsen the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, which has been hit by deadly protests over the opposition’s bid to topple the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The country suffered its deadliest chapter of political violence in 2013 after the war crimes court handed down a series of death sentences to Jamaat leaders for their role in the 1971 conflict, which saw the then east Pakistan secede from the regime in Islamabad.

Opposition parties say the war crimes trials are politically motivated and aimed at settling scores, while rights groups say the trials have fallen short of international standards.

Hasina’s secular government maintains they are needed to heal the wounds of the conflict, which it says left three million people dead.

Independent experts have estimated the death toll was much lower.

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