ISLAMABAD: Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are to hold talks Saturday and Sunday, October 9 and 10, about containing extremist groups in Afghanistan and easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country, officials from both sides said.
It’s the first such meeting since U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in late August, ending a 20-year military presence there, and the Taliban’s rise to power in the nation. The talks are to take place in Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is based in Doha, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the talks will also revisit the peace agreement the Taliban signed with Washington in 2020. The agreement had paved the way for the final U.S. withdrawal.
“Yes there is a meeting . . . about bilateral relations and implementation of the Doha agreement,” said Shaheen. “It covers various topics.”
Terrorism will also feature in the talks, said a second official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Since the Taliban took power, Islamic State extremists have ramped up attacks on the militant group, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. On Friday, an IS suicide bomber killed at least 46 minority Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens in the deadliest attack since the U.S. departure.
IS has carried out relentless assaults on the country’s Shiite Muslims since emerging in eastern Afghanistan in 2014. IS is also seen as the greatest threat to the United States.
The U.S.-Taliban agreement of 2020, which was negotiated by the Trump administration, demanded the Taliban break ties with terrorist groups and guarantee Afghanistan would not again harbor terrorists who could attack the United States and its allies.
It seems certain the two sides will discuss in the weekend talks how to tackle the growing threat. The Taliban have said they do not want U.S. anti-terrorism assistance and have warned Washington against any so-called “over-the -horizon” strikes on Afghan territory from outside the country’s borders.
The United States, meanwhile, would seek to hold Taliban leaders to commitments that they would allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave Afghanistan, along with Afghans who once worked for the U.S. military or government and other Afghan allies, a U.S. official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak by name about the meetings.
The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of U.S.-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday that 105 U.S. citizens and 95 green card holders had left since then on flights facilitated by the U.S. That number had not changed for more than a week.
U.S. veterans and other individuals have helped others leave the country on charter flights, and some Americans and others have gotten out across land borders.
Hundreds of other foreign nationals and Afghans have also left on recent flights.
Dozens of American citizens are still seeking to get out, according to the State Department, along with thousands of green-card holders and Afghans and family members believed eligible for U.S. visas. U.S. officials have cited the difficulty of verifying flight manifests without any American officials on the ground in Afghanistan to help, along with other hold-ups.
Americans also intend to press the Taliban to observe the rights of women and girls, many of whom the Taliban are reportedly blocking from returning to jobs and classrooms, and of Afghans at large, and to form an inclusive government, the official said.
U.S. officials will also encourage Taliban officials to give humanitarian agencies free access to areas in need amid the economic upheaval following the U.S. departure and Taliban takeover.
The official stressed the session did not imply the U.S. was recognizing the Taliban as legitimate governors of the country.
Archives for October 2021
Man handed five-year jail term for sexual harassment of girl child in Uttar Pradesh
MUZAFFARNAGAR: A POCSO court in Shamli’s Kairana has sentenced a man to five years in jail for sexually harassing a girl child last year, officials said on Saturday.
Apart from the quantum of punishment, Special Judge Mumtaz Ali on Friday evening imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on convict, Jai Bhagwan, after holding him guilty under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 9 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act here.
According to special lawyer Pushpendra Malik, the five-year-old girl was sexually harassed by Bhagwan in Adarsh Mandi police station area of Shamli district on August 1, 2020. n another case, one Monu alias Kokin was handed 10 years and 11 months imprisonment under charges of the UP Gangsters Act by a special court in Muzaffarnagar.
Besides, Special Judge Radhey Shyam Yadav has also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict. Monu was booked under the Act for involvement in several robbery cases in Bhora Kalan police station area in the district in 2011.
Delhi shop owners to approach Supreme Court over doorstep ration
NEW DELHI: Delhi Sarkari Ration Shop Owners’ Association is all set to move the Supreme Court against the doorstep delivery of the ration scheme even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal resent the scheme file to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for approval. “We will challenge the implementation of Delhi government’s doorstep delivery of ration scheme in the SC,” said Saurabh Gupta. Secretary of Delhi Sarkari Ration Dealers’ Sangh.
The Delhi government has been at loggerheads with the Centre for the past one year to get the scheme approved. Incidentally, the Delhi government has again sent the file on doorstep delivery of ration to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for his approval. The file was sent to Baijal twice earlier but he did not give approval, said sources.
Last week, in a “major setback” to the central government and the lieutenant governor, the Delhi High Court had allowed the Kejriwal government to conditionally implement the doorstep delivery scheme of rations, after which the chief minister has sent the file to Baijal, the statement said. “The high court has given permission to implement the scheme. Now we appeal to the L-G to approve the doorstep delivery of ration so that the scheme can be implemented in Delhi as soon as possible,” it added.
The scheme aims to procure ration from the central government to distribute it to the underprivileged in the city. As per the scheme, wheat would be picked up from the Food Corporation of India godown, then taken to a mill and ground into flour. Flour, sugar and rice would be packed in clean, hygienic sacks and ration packets and delivered to the beneficiary at their home.
The Fair Price Shop (FPS) owners’ union had filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court (HC). They stated the scheme was an attempt to formulate a ‘parallel privately’ owned Targeted Public Distribution System. It was completely against the National Food Security Act rules framed under the Public Distribution Control Order.
The government was set to start the scheme on March 25. But on March 19, the Centre raised objections to the implementation of the scheme. It said it couldn’t be named as ‘Mukhyamantri Ghar-Ghar Ration Yojna’. According to the Centre, the food grains allotted by the central department for distribution under the NFSA can’t be used for running a state-specific or any other scheme by any name other than NFSA.
Free ration for poor to continue
Kejriwal on Tuesday in a cabinet meeting decided to continue the free ration scheme for the poor. He said even those who were not recognised under the Public Distribution System would be covered. During Covid lockdowns, people without ration cards found themselves at the receiving end. These included migrant workers, unorganized workers, building and construction workers, domestic servants, etc. On May 25, Delhi Cabinet decided to provide free food grains.
Bajrang Dal leader Chaitra Kundapur booked over provocative speech at Surathkal
MANGALURU: Bajrang Dal leader Chaitra Kundapur has been booked for allegedly making a provocative speech against other communities during a public gathering at Surathkal on October 4.
Abdul Khader, a businessman and several others, had filed complaints demanding action against Chaitra for making a ‘derogatory and abusive’ speech. In the complaint, they alleged that she also said the ‘Bajrang Dal could easily convert Muslim women and make them wear Kumkum’.
Bantwal Congress leader Bondala Chittaranjan Shetty in a complaint to Surathkal police had said that the Bajrang Dal had organised a public programme at Surathkal, where Chaitra made a ‘provocative speech using vulgar, unparliamentary words’.
“In her speech, she used derogatory words against a particular community and it might lead to communal clashes. Already, people of two communities are resorting to verbal spat and Chaitra has also misused Tulunadu heroes Koti-Chennayya and hurt the sentiments of Tuluvas. She has compared the holy weapon ‘Suriya’ used by the Koti-Chennayyas to ‘Talvar’ used by goons which has hurt the religious sentiments of Tuluvas,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, she has been booked under sections 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and 505(2) (Statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
Will complete term and lead BJP in 2023 Assembly polls: Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai
NEW DELHI: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai exuded confidence on Friday that he will complete his term and lead the BJP in the 2023 state Assembly polls with the backing of the central leadership and strong party principles.
While leaders from the Lingayat community have played a key role in building the BJP in Karnataka, a lot of people from other castes like Vokkaliga, SCs, STs and OBCs have also joined the saffron party and are contributing a lot, Bommai said.
Addressing the “India Today Conclave” here, he said he is “most secured” since his childhood when asked if he has any fear of his government being toppled overnight like it happened in the state in the past.
The BJP leader said his father S R Bommai’s tenure as the Karnataka chief minister lasted for only nine months as the Janata Party, which he belonged to, did not have a strong leadership at the Centre.
“Now, with my leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah and (BJP chief) J P Nadda, we have not only got a strong central leadership but also strong party principles. I am sure that with all these factors behind me, I will not only complete this term, I will lead Karnataka upfront and bring the BJP back to power,” he said.
Stating that the BJP functions in a democratic way, Bommai said, “Our principle is a strong Centre and strong states, and that makes a strong nation. All the timely changes are the need of the hour. It is not a question of any dictatorship.”
On a question on the BJP-ruled states turning to Delhi for decision making, he said, “For administration, there is no question of looking at Delhi. But there are certain issues, where you have to consult. Consultation does not mean you look upon Delhi or look down Delhi. Consultation is an ongoing process.”
On the trend of frequent shifting of MLAs from one party to another and yet winning elections in the state, Bommai said “changing sides” and parties has been there since the days of veteran Congress leaders S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil.
Even leaders like Ramakrishna Hedge and S R Bommai had to quit and join the BJP, he said, adding, “The course of politics and leadership has guided all these changes.”
Bommai further said spending a huge amount of money in elections and the role of lobbies were always there in Karnataka.
“I should admit that there were and there are lobbies in Karnataka politics. Earlier, there was an excise lobby, then came the granite lobby and the education lobby. In between, we had a mining lobby. All these lobbies always try to dominate the state’s politics with money power. That has disturbed the right kind of polity in Karnataka. Not only in Karnataka, but in several states,” he said.
However, the people of Karnataka “have always overthrown them and brought the government back with people’s mandate. That is the silver lining in Karnataka’s politics. All the credit should go to the people of Karnataka”, he added.
On frequent changes of chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, including B S Yediyurappa, Bommai said, “Change is permanent. Yediyurappa is such a strong leader. I think only he could have decided his future course of action.”
Yediyurappa single-handedly built the BJP in Karnataka, he said, adding, that the veteran leader has fought and won many battles for the saffron party in the southern state.
“He is never tired. However, he chose to pave the way for the next generation. When he was at the helm of affairs and strongly placed, he voluntarily made way for the next generation. That is the culture he brought in and that is the culture of the BJP,” Bommai said.
BJP & RSS are not related to each: Union minister Narayanaswamy
CHITRADURGA: Union minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment A Narayanaswamy on Friday said that the BJP and RSS are not related to each other and are different entities.
Addressing media persons while reacting to the statement on RSS by JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy, Narayanaswamy said that all BJP workers have accepted RSS ideologies and asked if Kumaraswamy was unaware of BJP’s connection with RSS when he shared power with them.
On the issue of farmers’ killing in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, he said the culprits will face action. He objected to the statements made by former CM Siddaramaiah on the matter and said it was during his term that more than 3000 farmers died in Karnataka.
India reports 19,740 fresh cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours, active tally in country lowest in 206 days
NEW DELHI: India saw a single-day rise of 19,740 COVID-19 infections, taking the country’s total tally of cases to 3,39,35,309, while the number of active cases has declined to 2,36,643, the lowest in 206 days, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.
The daily rise in new coronavirus cases has been below 30,000 for 15 straight days, it said. The active cases have declined to 2,36,643 and comprise 0.70 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March last year.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 97.98 per cent, the highest since March last year, the ministry said. There has been a decrease of 3,578 cases in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data stated.
The daily positivity rate has been recorded at 1.56 per cent. It has been less than three per cent for the last 40 days, it said The weekly positivity rate has been recorded at 1.62 per cent. It has been below three per cent for the last 106 days, according to the health ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,32,48,291, while the case fatality rate has been recorded at 1.33 per cent, it said. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7 last year, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16 last year.
It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19 last year. India crossed the two crore cases on May 4 and three crore cases on June 23.
The 248 new fatalities include 120 from Kerala and 59 from Maharashtra, the ministry said.
It said that a total of 4,50,375 deaths have been reported so far in the country, including 1,39,470 from Maharashtra, 37,866 from Karnataka, 35,754 from Tamil Nadu, 26,072 from Kerala, 25,088 from Delhi, 22,896 from Uttar Pradesh and 18,882 from West Bengal.
The health ministry said that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. “Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
‘Vaccine hesitancy still a problem in remote in India”s Rural areas people fear of vaccines
NEW DELHI: Waiting for others to get the Covid-19 vaccine first and fear of any adverse effects may still be putting a significant chunk of the population in India away from the vaccines, the first ever analysis on vaccine hesitancy in the country has shown. Though no concrete data on the percentage of people choosing to forgo vaccines is available, it has been estimated that in remote and rural areas, up to 10% people may be sceptical.
The analysis by the doctors attached with the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai said that distrust in the safety of recently approved vaccines, fear of adverse effects, and rumours concerning infertility and death as a result of the Covid-19 vaccine, among other causes, are fuelling hesitancy.
The authors noted that according to the Covid symptoms survey conducted in India, the top five reasons provided for not getting vaccinated included: waiting for others to get it first (42%), other individuals need it more than me (35%), fear of any adverse effect 34%, vaccines will not work (21%) and disbelief in the vaccine.
The researchers said that vaccine hesitancy is becoming a problem with very few possible solutions. Noting that the initiation of the CoWIN registration portal has significantly enhanced the vaccination campaign, they said that based on the reported statistics, vaccine hesitancy is rampant in remote areas and regions.
Pointing out that the lowering the cost of the vaccine for college students can be a beneficial way to reduce vaccine hesitancy, the researchers said that the government’s COVID-19 vaccination communication strategy has significant operational and structural flaws in its current form. “The second wave of infections disrupted capacity-building for communication management at the national, state, district, and sub-district levels,” said the paper.
Citing an international survey, the analysis said that vaccine acceptance rates were the highest in low and middle-income countries such as Ecuador (97.0%), Malaysia (94.3%), Indonesia (93.3%) and China (91.3%). On the other hand, high-income countries such as Kuwait (23.6%), Jordan (28.4%), Italy (53.7%), Russia (54.9%), Poland (56.3%), USA (56.9%), and France (58.9%) had the lowest acceptance rates. Government authorities say the vaccine hesitancy in India may be coming down with most of the available vaccines “proving their safety profile”.
Panel for removing export curbs
Barely weeks after the Centre curbed the export of Covid-19 rapid antigen testing kits, the Union health ministry, based on the recommendations of an empowered group, has suggested removing these restrictions. In a recent letter to the directorate general of foreign trade, the ministry said while RTPCR testing kits were added to the restricted category for export from June 2020, RAT kits too were restricted for export from August this year. An empowered group responsible for policy suggestions related to Covid-19 logistics , however, has decided to revoke the restrictions imposed on the kits and allow free export of these products, said the letter.
Delhi-Centre row: AAP govt mentions again for hearing in SC plea against amended GNCTD Act, Rules
NEW DELHI: The AAP government on Wednesday sought again an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court of the plea challenging the amended GNCTD Act and some provisions of the Transaction of Business Rules which allegedly give more power to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
On September 13, the Delhi Government had mentioned the same plea for urgent hearing and the apex court had then agreed to list it.
“A day before, a lawyer mentioned the Delhi-Centre case. Everyday, we have to hear the Delhi government matter only? We will list it, Mr Singhvi, leave it there. We will put it before the appropriate bench,” the bench said.
Singhvi sought to distinguish between the case, which was being mentioned by him for urgent hearing, from the other one which was mentioned on Tuesday by senior advocate Rahul Mehra.
Singhvi said he was seeking listing of a writ petition which pertains to Article 239AA (status of Delhi under the Constitution) and challenged the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act and 13 Rules of the Transaction of Business of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Rules, 1993.
The Delhi government, in its plea through Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, has sought quashing of the four amended sections of the GNCTD Act and 13 Rules on various grounds such as the violation of the doctrine of basic structure, separation of power, as the LG has been bestowed with more authority.
The GNCTD Amendment Act, 2021 has come into force after being passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on March 22 and March 24, respectively.
According to the amended Act, the expression ‘Delhi Government’ referred to in any law to be made by the UT’s Legislative Assembly shall mean the Lieutenant Governor.
The plea has alleged that the amended law gives more power to the LG over the elected government and they have “disenfranchised” Delhiites, and violated the principle of federalism by diminishing the constitutionally guaranteed powers and functions of the elected legislative assembly and the council of ministers.
On Tuesday, the city government sought urgent hearing on another plea, arising out of a 2019 split verdict on the contentious issue of who should control administrative services in Delhi.
The apex court said that it would set up a bench for hearing it after Diwali vacation.
On February 14, 2019, a two judge-bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, both retired since, recommended to the chief justice of India that a three judge bench be set up to finally decide the issue of control of services in the national capital in view of its split verdict.
Justice Bhushan had ruled the Delhi government has no power at all over administrative services.
Justice Sikri, however, made a distinction.
He said the transfer or posting of officers in top echelons of the bureaucracy (joint director and above) can only be done by the Central government and the view of the lieutenant governor would prevail in case of a difference of opinion for matters relating to other bureaucrats.
On July 4, 2018, the five-judge Constitution bench had unanimously held that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is bound by the “aid and advice” of the elected government and both needed to work harmoniously with each other.
It had also laid down broad parameters for governance of the national capital, which has witnessed a power struggle between the Centre and the Delhi government since the AAP came to power in 2014.
The Delhi government has been at loggerheads with the present L-G and his predecessor.
Only 15 MP MLAs, including CM Shivraj furnish assets details
BHOPAL: Twenty months after the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha unanimously resolved that each member of the House will furnish details of their and dependents’ assets/properties and liabilities annually, only 15 of the 227 MLAs have so far done that.
While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is among the nine BJP MLAs who have furnished their assets details to the principal secretary of the Assembly, as required, his predecessor Kamal Nath does not figure among the six Congress legislators who have done that.
The Congress MLAs who have furnished the details include former parliamentary affairs minister Govind Singh and first-time MLAs Arif Masood and Sanjay Yadav.
Congress MLA PC Sharma blamed Covid-19 and lockdowns for non-submission of property details.
“Now that everything is opening up, the details will be submitted before the Vidhan Sabha in next two months,” Sharma said.
According to informed sources, the BJP members (the party was then in opposition) had suggested then that instead of passing a resolution, a legislation should be passed by the House for the purpose.
Some lawmakers, in fact, wanted a provision of jail term for those who failed to declare assets.
However, Vishvas Sarang, who is now the medical education minister, said on Wednesday, “There is no issue in it…The details are also given by all at the time of contesting polls.”
The 230-member MP Vidhan Sabha currently has 227 members fiollowing the death of three legislators.
Resolution required lawmakers to file details by June
The Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha had passed a unanimous resolution on December 18, 2019, which stipulated that every member of the House would furnish to the Assembly details of their and their dependents’ movable and immovable assets by June 30 annually.
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