Sunday, June 18, 2017
Advanced Chinese Destroyer to Join Joint Naval Drill with Russia
One of China's most advanced guided-missile destroyers will participate in a joint naval drill for the first time.
The Type 052D destroyer, Changsha, missile frigate Yuncheng and supply ship Luoma Lake left Sunday from Sanya, South China's Hainan Province to St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, Russia for the first phase of the joint naval exercises between China and Russia, dubbed "Joint Sea 2017."
This year's exercises will focus on joint rescue efforts and protecting cargo vessels. The first phase will be held in the Baltic Sea in July, and the second in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk in September.
The Chinese ministry of national defense said the drills are held every year, and are not aimed at any third party. The drills are meant to enhance the China-Russia ties and also to improve both sides' ability to cope with maritime threats.
"By sending its most advanced guided-missile destroyers, China is expressing its sincerity to Russia and also sends a strong signal to other countries who plan to provoke us," said Li Jie, a Beijing-based navy expert.
Holding this year's drills in key strategic locations sets them apart from those in the past, Li said, citing the Baltic Sea as the scene of confrontations between countries, such as the US and Russia.
China and Russia have held five joint naval drills since 2005. The two countries held "Joint Sea 2016" in the South China Sea involving naval ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, marines and amphibious armored equipment.
Video - Part 1,2,3: Oliver Stone Interviews Putin on U.S.-Russia Relations, 2016 Election, Snowden & NATO
Discrimination against Pakistani minorities continues to rise
Applications are invited from non-Muslims only and a further condition has been added in the application form, that they must take the religious oath on their religious holy book - Geeta or Bible – that they will never do anything else but work as a sanitary worker and will never refuse to carry out the work. Such terms and conditions are ridiculous and cannot be accepted anywhere in the civilised world.
Nasir Saeed director CLAAS-UK has expressed his concern over the growing situation against religious minorities. Unfortunately, religious minorities in Pakistan are under constant attack because of the government’s discriminatory policies against them and laws like the blasphemy law.
He said: "Minorities are facing discrimination in all walks of life and even their worship places, properties and honour is not safe. They see no future for themselves and for their future generations and are now forced to flee the country."
This is not the first time but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab something similar ha/ occurred and the government has failed to take actions against those responsible. This seems to be the present government’s policy as it is doing nothing to stop this ongoing situation, but promoting hatred in the name of religion against non-Muslims through its institutions, which is unacceptable.
In a country like Pakistan where the human rights condition continues to deteriorate and religious hatred and extremism is on the rise, such government sponsored polices are a serious issue and the international community need to take action because it is an open violation of international human rights.
It is also illegal and a violation of Pakistan’s own constitution’s article 27 which provides safeguards against discrimination in services (employment).
It states: (1) No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth.
It is unbelievable that such things continue to happen in the 21st century, but Pakistan has no respect for human rights and particularly for the minorities. Despite ratifying dozens of international treaties, Pakistan has not even attempted to bring its laws into line with these treaties.
This is a serious issue in today’s modern world where religion is less relevant and considered a personal matter. Sadly Pakistan continues its journey to become a theocratic state and instead of treating its minorities equally and with respect, continues to deprive them of their fundamental rights and enslave them for being non-Muslim.
Promoting hate, disparaging and intimidating minorities for being non-Muslims is condemnable and should not be tolerated at any cost.
This practice has to be stopped immediately and we request that immediate appropriate action is taken against those who are responsible and if necessary, legislation is passed to stop this ongoing discrimination against minorities.
- See more at: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?hnewsid=6507#sthash.2tuua3nD.dpuf
Nasir Saeed director CLAAS-UK has expressed his concern over the growing situation against religious minorities. Unfortunately, religious minorities in Pakistan are under constant attack because of the government’s discriminatory policies against them and laws like the blasphemy law.
He said: "Minorities are facing discrimination in all walks of life and even their worship places, properties and honour is not safe. They see no future for themselves and for their future generations and are now forced to flee the country."
This is not the first time but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab something similar ha/ occurred and the government has failed to take actions against those responsible. This seems to be the present government’s policy as it is doing nothing to stop this ongoing situation, but promoting hatred in the name of religion against non-Muslims through its institutions, which is unacceptable.
In a country like Pakistan where the human rights condition continues to deteriorate and religious hatred and extremism is on the rise, such government sponsored polices are a serious issue and the international community need to take action because it is an open violation of international human rights.
It is also illegal and a violation of Pakistan’s own constitution’s article 27 which provides safeguards against discrimination in services (employment).
It states: (1) No citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the service of Pakistan shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth.
It is unbelievable that such things continue to happen in the 21st century, but Pakistan has no respect for human rights and particularly for the minorities. Despite ratifying dozens of international treaties, Pakistan has not even attempted to bring its laws into line with these treaties.
This is a serious issue in today’s modern world where religion is less relevant and considered a personal matter. Sadly Pakistan continues its journey to become a theocratic state and instead of treating its minorities equally and with respect, continues to deprive them of their fundamental rights and enslave them for being non-Muslim.
Promoting hate, disparaging and intimidating minorities for being non-Muslims is condemnable and should not be tolerated at any cost.
This practice has to be stopped immediately and we request that immediate appropriate action is taken against those who are responsible and if necessary, legislation is passed to stop this ongoing discrimination against minorities.
- See more at: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?hnewsid=6507#sthash.2tuua3nD.dpuf
Pakistan - Why Ahmadi muslims are Victims of Persecution
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) was founded by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in 1889 in village Qadian, District Gurdaspur, Punjab. He claimed to be the “Reformer” of the age and fulfilled all the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) regarding the second advent of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi (the Guided One). Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had written over 80 books and one of his greatest scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam. After his claims, he was criticized by the mainstream Muslim as well as the Christian community. The reason put forth was his book Jesus in India which describes that Jesus is dead and is buried in Khanyar area of Srinagar, Kashmir and above mentioned claims.
After his demise in 1908, AMC has been headed by respective successors and currently Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad is spiritual head of the AMC worldwide. Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has delivered speeches in several parliaments in the West regarding the futility of the nuclear weapons and has sent official letters to the heads of the states which possess nuclear warheads. Most of his speeches and letters are collected in a book World Crises and the Pathway to Peace and is distributed free all over world in order to save this world from nuclear destruction.
Coming to the main point, after the partition in 1947, majority of AMC migrated to Pakistan. At that time AMC was headed by Hadhrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad and Chinab Nagar area in Punjab province was selected for settlement. AMC is known for its contribution to Pakistan in both civil and military services. However, after 1974, Pakistan ignored all the contribution from AMC. For instance, Sir Chaudhary Zafarullah Khan and Dr. Abdus Salam had served Pakistan in academic, scientific and foreign services but their contributions won only few academic hearts.
In 1974, Pakistan Assembly declared AMC as non-Muslims and in 1984 an ordinance “White Paper” was passed against AMC. Since 1974, Ahmadis in Pakistan are persecuted without any mercy and more than 250 Ahmadis are assassinated because of their faith. Ahmadis are arrested under the blasphemy laws (Blasphemy clause section295-C) and there are more than fifty Ahmadis that are implicated under the blasphemy law PPC 295-B in Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Mosques received a special mention in the law that Ahmadis are prohibited from calling their mosques a Masjid. A number of mosques were attacked, demolished and dozens were sealed by the authorities. The Ahmadis in Pakistan are also victims of conscience and are awarded prison for saying Salam (the Islamic greeting).
The Ahmadiyya press is not free and criminal cases are registered against the AMC magazines and periodicals under anti-Ahmadiyya law i.e. PRC 298-B/C in Pakistan. The Ahmadis working in press and publication departments (editors, printers and publishers) are put behind bars by the authorities in Pakistan.
The AMC is totally excluded from the mainstream political affairs in Pakistan. Moreover, Ahmadis are not even represented in the town council of Rabwah where 95 percent population is Ahmadi. It is interesting to note that Pakistani citizens cannot cast vote unless they reject and denounce Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Ahmadis are facing different challenges while receiving education and there are some cases where Ahmadi students were denied admission in professional colleges in Pakistan. For instance, in 2008, all the male and female Ahmadi students of the Punjab Medical College Faisalabad were expelled by the college administration supported by the anti-Ahmadiyya groups of people.
The Ahmadis are resigning from their jobs in the government sector due to discriminatory behaviour form the other side. The story does not end here; Ahmadis are attacked in their private businesses as well. The anti-Ahmadiyya people issued Fatwa that all the dealings with Ahmadis are Haram/illegal (prohibited by Sharia) and the attacks on Ahmadiyya owned business are common in Pakistan.
Not only in Pakistan, Ahmadis are also persecuted in states like Indonesia, Algeria and Bangladesh. An Ahmadi person namely Asad Shah was murdered by Tanveer Ahmad (Sunni Muslim) in Glasgow, UK in 2016 only because of Asad’s faith. This is so embarrassing that Islam that teaches peace, compassion and brotherhood are wrongly interpreted by so called custodian of Islam to harm other people’s belief and faith. Islam teaches that to kill an innocent is akin to kill all of mankind (Quran: 5:33).
The Holy Prophet of Islam himself said that whosoever sheds the blood of an innocent person is not a Muslim. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has deemed such people as weak in faith and to be sinners. Islam’s denouncement of innocent killings is the question to all those people who believe in violence in the name of Islam and God. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as a prophet of mercy to all mankind (21:108), irrespective of differences of religion or belief. There is nothing mentioned in the Quran that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent by God as a mercy for Muslim community only. The Quran also states that “There should be no compulsion in religion” (2:257). Therefore, according to Islam, this is a personal matter between an individual and God and all people have the right to choose whether or not to believe in any religion.
The founder of AMC, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad has explicitly stated that “If somebody abuses you, you should pray for him and if somebody harms you and you should love him”. The AMC believes in peace and works worldwide under the slogan of Love for All Hatred for None. Recently a terrorist attack in London, UK was strictly condemned by AMC and Ahmadi women in UK participated in the event at Westminster Bridge by holding hands to show solidarity with the victims of the London terror attack. Moreover, Ahmadis with banner Love for All Hatred for None in UK gathered on Westminster Bridge along with Jews, police and tourists to pay respect to the four people killed in the terror attack. Not only this occasion, AMC every time condemned such barbaric acts and believes in peace and brotherhood.
AMC as a minority community is always persecuted particularly in Pakistan because of their faith and have been forcibly alienated from the mainstream Muslim community since 1974. The persecution of Ahmadis is based on the false allegations that Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, God forbid, profusely insulted the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and changed the Muslim creed. The pseudo and myopic religious scholars have wrongly guided the Muslims that AMC is not believer of the finality of the Prophethood of the Hadhrat Muhammad (pbuh). However, the founder of the AMC explicitly states in Persian couplet that “My life and my heart, everything is but a sacrifice for the beauty of my beloved Muhammad (pbuh); I am as if, the dust of the alley of Muhammad (pbuh)”. He and AMC have firm belief in the finality of the Prophethood of the Muhammad (pbuh). He states that I am just a follower of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with a particular mission to revive Islam.
This write-up condemns the recent killings of two Ahmadis in Pakistan and also those brutal innocent killings that are done in the name of God and Islam. Islam has nothing to do with extremism and force and God has not given any right to human being to kill an innocent being. In other words it is symbol of ignorance and disrespect to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who was known for his mercy, love and brotherhood. How could one disrespect others faith and behaves in an irresponsible way? This write-up is in the form of appeal to all Muslim brothers; the Ahmadis too have a right to life and right to practice their religion under the shadow of Islam.
https://www.rabwah.net/ahmadis-victims-persecution/
Pakistan Hindu Council appeals for suo motu notice of increasing forced conversions
The Pakistan Hindu Council has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the rise in kidnappings, forced conversions and forced marriages of underage Hindu girls to Muslim men in Sindh.
An meeting of the council was held on Sunday to discuss the issue after media reports emerged earlier this week of the case of 16-year-old Ravita Meghwadh from Tharparkar whose family alleges she was abducted, forcibly converted and married off to a Muslim man “twice her age” in Umerkot.
Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief and MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani attended the meeting along with Hotchand Kirmani, Paman Lal Rathi, Dr Deepak Kumar and Raja Asar Mal, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
“The situation in the area from where Ravita was kidnapped is still very tense and the victim’s family is reportedly [being] forced to leave home,” the statement said. MNA Vankwani demanded that Ravita be rescued, saying such incidents could be described as social crimes in any civilised society but in Sindh, hate-mongering elements were presenting it [abduction and forced conversion] as a good deed under the garb of religion.
He said the council had never opposed conversion to Islam if it is done wilfully by the person.
“But the situation in Sindh is entirely different where the focus is only to convert kidnapped Hindu girls with the sole purpose of marrying them without their consent,” he added. The parliamentarian criticised the Sindh government for not passing the forced conversion bill which would have offered some respite to religious minorities. The bill officially titled Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill was passed unanimously by the Sindh Assembly last year, but the governor refused to sign it into law and sent it back to the assembly asking them to “reconsider it”.
Speaking of another forced conversion incident, Vankwani said 15-year-old Ganga was kidnapped by a man named Qasim Hajam and forced to convert and marry at gunpoint.
He said the rise of such horrific incidents showed that the government had failed to provide security to non-Muslims and had left a negative impact on the socio-psychological condition of minorities.
“Five thousand Pakistani Hindus are being forced to migrate every year,” said Vankwani. “Remaining a poor community, they have no other option but to keep quiet.”
The meeting’s participants expressed sorrow that it had been more than 15 days since Ravita was allegedly kidnapped but the police had still not arrested the perpetrators because they were influential people.
They said the abductors generally tend to present the girl in court after a couple of weeks with a conversion certificate from any madrasa to justify their crime and that presented legal cover for the police to do nothing.
When these girls are presented in court, they lack even the basic understanding of their newly-adopted religion and are not even eligible to acquire an identity card because they are so young, the participants noted.
They urged Vankwani to play his role as a politician and public figure to involve all segments of the society to protest against forced conversions and marriages.
Pakistani diplomats go missing in Afghanistan
Two Pakistani diplomats based in a consulate office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad have been missing since June 16, when they set off by road back to their homeland, according to Pakistan's foreign office.
The officials disappeared while travelling between the Torkham border crossing and Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province.
"The matter has been raised with the relevant Afghan authorities for their safety and recovery, at the earliest," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
In response, Afghan authorities have sent three investigation groups to ensure the officials' safe return, the statement said.
"Pakistan has requested the Afghan government that all efforts may be made to ensure early recovery of our officials and bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice."
Attaullah Khugyani, a spokesman for Nangarhar's governor, told DPA news agency the "provincial governor has started efforts to search for and recover the Pakistani consulate workers with the full cooperation of the Pakistani consulate here".
Pakistan did not speculate who may be behind the disappearances but various Afghanistan-based groups have targeted diplomats in the past.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense in recent years, with both countries accusing each other of not doing enough to tackle Pakistani and Afghan Taliban fighters.
Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to Afghan Taliban commanders based within its borders and of supporting the group, something Pakistan denies.
Pakistan has claimed that Afghanistan is not doing enough to tackle Pakistani Taliban fighters who have been driven out of Pakistan, but who still carry out attacks across the border.
Jalalabad is a busy trading hub about 70km from the main border crossing with Pakistan, from which landlocked Afghanistan imports much of its goods.
The province is home to various armed groups, including the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban.
Bilawal Bhutto extends heartiest congratulations to Pakistani cricket team on winning ICC Championship Trophy Final
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has extended heartiest congratulations to Pakistani cricket team on winning ICC Championship Trophy Final by defeating Indian squad in a spectacular match.
In a felicitation message, the PPP Chairman said that it has been proved yet again that whenever a task is taken into hands with national spirit and hard-work by Pakistanis, tremendous victory always embraces them in the end. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari eulogized entire national cricket team, including Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman for displaying splendid game at the Oval.
https://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/2017/06/18/bilawal-bhutto-zardari-extends-heartiest-congratulations-to-pakistani-cricket-team-on-winning-icc-championship-trophy-final/