Pakistan arrests 130 miscreants in overnight raids after mob attack on churches

News Network
August 17, 2023

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Islamabad, Aug 17: Police arrested around 13 suspects in overnight raids from an area in eastern Pakistan where a mob angered over the alleged desecration of the Quran by a Christian man attacked churches and homes of minority Christians, prompting authorities to summon troops to restore order, officials said Thursday.

There were no casualties as Christians living in a residential area in the city of Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district quickly moved to safer places along with their families following one of the country’s most deadly attacks against Christians.

Christians slowly returned to their homes Thursday, only to see the destruction of at least one church that was burned. Four other churches were also damaged. Two dozen homes were torched or badly damaged during the riots. 

“We were sitting at home when suddenly we heard that a mob is coming and it is burning homes and attacking churches,” said Shazia Amjad, as she wept outside her home, which was torched on Wednesday. She told The Associated Press that the rioters burned household items and furniture. Some of Amjad’s possessions were stolen as she moved to a safer place with her family, she added.

Amjad said the rioters sprinkled petrol to burn homes in their area, and they also stole jewellery and other things. Other Christians described similar ordeals and expressed bewilderment. Local Christians consoled each other outside their damaged homes, as many women wept and cried over the destruction. Those whose homes were burned had no idea where to go or what to do now.

On Wednesday, Khalid Mukhtar, a local priest, said that most Christians living in the area had fled to safer places. “Even my house was burned,” he said, adding that he believes most of Jaranwala’s 17 churches had been attacked.

Delegations of Muslim clerics arrived in Jaranwala to help calm the situation, as troops and police patrolled the area. Local authorities have shut schools and offices and banned rallies for a week to prevent more violence.

The violence drew nationwide condemnation, with caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-ul-Haq Kakar ordering police to ensure the rioters are arrested. On Thursday, Rizwan Khan, the regional police chief, said 129 suspects had been arrested and the situation was under control.

The violence erupted after some Muslims living in the area claimed they had seen a local Christian, Raja Amir, and his friend tearing out pages from a Quran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages.

Police say they are trying to arrest Amir to determine whether he desecrated Islam’s holy book.

According to Khan, the mob quickly gathered and began attacking multiple churches and several Christian homes. The rioters also attacked the offices of a city administrator on Wednesday, but police eventually intervened, firing into the air and wielding batons to disperse rioters with the help of Muslim clerics and elders.

Videos and photos posted on social media show an angry mob descending upon a church, throwing pieces of bricks and burning them. In another video, four other churches are attacked, their windows broken as attackers throw furniture out and set it on fire. In yet another video, a man is seen climbing to the roof of the church and removing the steel cross after repeatedly hitting it with a hammer as the crowd down on the road cheered him on.

The violence drew condemnation from various domestic and international human rights groups.

Amnesty International called for repealing the country’s blasphemy laws. Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, often just the accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.

Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities in Pakistan and settle personal scores.

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News Network
December 16,2024

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The Israeli regime sustains its heavy attacks against various areas across Syria as Western-backed militants, who ousted the country’s government earlier this month, strengthen their foothold.

On Monday, the regime’s warplanes struck vital facilities and military infrastructure along the country’s western coastline, including the cities of Tartus and Latakia, where they pounded missile bases and ammunition depots.

Massive explosions rang out across the cities during the attacks.

Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network said Israeli occupation forces had also advanced as far as 15 kilometers (9 miles) in the western Syrian province of Quneitra.

'An earthquake'

Russia’s Sputnik news agency also reported Israeli assaults against military facilities in Hama and Homs, two other western provinces, adding that attacks against Hama and Aleppo, which is likewise situated in western Syria, shook the targeted areas like an “earthquake.”

Local sources, meanwhile, reported that the regime’s warplanes had also hit the Military Airport in the eastern province of Deir al-Zawr.

The agency cited sources as saying that Israeli warships had launched a number of missiles towards the Syrian coast, especially targeting the Tartus Province.

According to them, this was the first time that the Israeli military was deploying “such missiles” against Syria’s military sites.

The reports came a day after the regime attacked the positions that used to belong to the country’s Republican Guard and the Syrian military’s Fourth Armored Division in the Tal Mneen area and the town of Hafir, north of the capital Damascus.

Also on Sunday, Israeli forces occupied three new villages across the country, namely the Jamla village in the western Syrian province of Dara’a as well as the Mazraat Beit Jan and Mughr al-Mir رillages in Rif Dimashq Province.

Israeli aircraft also bombed an air defense site in the town of Muhajja in the eastern countryside of Dara’a’s capital and attacked the warehouses of the Syrian military’s 18th Armored Division in the eastern suburbs of Homs.

The regime has markedly intensified its deadly attacks against the country, especially targeting its military infrastructure, in the aftermath of its takeover by anti-Damascus militants, who are widely reported to have been receiving extensive military support and cooperation on the part of the Israeli regime and the West.

As part of its aggression, the regime has expanded its occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights, overrunning a buffer zone in the territory, and announced plans to ramp up the population of illegal settlers in the mountainous region.

Regional Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Iraq, have lashed out at Tel Aviv over the measures.

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News Network
December 17,2024

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US and British warplanes have carried out fresh airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sana'a and other regions, intensifying attacks as Yemeni Armed Forces continue their anti-Israeli operations in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the regime’s genocide.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported that US and British aircraft targeted the premises of the Yemeni Defense Ministry in the the Assafi'yah district of Sana’a early on Tuesday.

Local sources heard loud explosions echoing from the site of the strikes. 

The report, however, did not provide any details regarding potential casualties or damage.

For his part, the Yemeni information minister vehemently denounced the latest US and British airstrikes against Sana’a, stating that the act of aggression “falls within the framework of attempts to diminish the Yemeni nation’s will to support Palestinian people.”

Hashem Sharaf al-Din underscored that enemies are unable to undermine Yemen’s military capabilities, as its government and nation are standing firm in the face of their vicious and terrorist attacks.

This came hours after the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces announced in a statement that the country’s missile units had carried out a military operation against an Israeli military target in Tel Aviv, using a hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile

Brigadier General Yahya Saree noted that the missile strike was in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and successfully achieved its desired objectives.

The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their operations, and will strike all Israeli facilities within the occupied territories, Saree pointed out, adding that such strikes will not stop unless the ongoing aggression on Gaza ends and the siege is completely lifted.

Early on Monday, American and British warplanes conducted a joint airstrike on targets at the Midi district in Yemen’s northern province of Hajjah.

US and British military aircraft also targeted a number of locations in the At Tuhayta district of the strategic western province of Hudaydah. Details on potential human or material losses from the strikes were not quickly disclosed.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the territory’s resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the occupying entity.

The Yemeni armed forces have said they will not stop their attacks as long as Israel continues its ground and aerial offensives in Gaza.

So far, Israel has killed at least 45,028 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 106,962 others in Gaza.

In October, the US military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to bomb Yemen in support of Israel. Since then, attacks against Yemen have continued in a bid to halt the retaliatory attacks by Sana'a. 

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News Network
December 25,2024

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Bengaluru: Police Inspector of Khanapur station has been suspended for dereliction of duty by allegedly letting in political leaders and others inside the station while BJP MLC C T Ravi was in custody in connection with a case registered against him, officials said on Wednesday.

The suspension order was issued by the office of Inspector General of Police, North Zone, Belagavi on December 21, they said.

On December 19, Ravi was arrested by the police from the premises of Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi for allegedly using a derogatory word against Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar in the legislative council hall.

According to the official order, when C T Ravi was taken to Khanapura police station for safety reasons, Police Inspector Manjunath Nayak, who was in-charge of the station, was told to use the staff and assign suitable duties to them.

It was also ordered to block the entry of any person other than the accused inside the police station. However, many political leaders and mediapersons stormed inside the police station. This created a noisy atmosphere inside the station, it stated.

The order further stated that as a responsible police inspector grade officer, Nayak failed to prevent several political leaders from entering Khanapur Police station, thus creating a tumultuous atmosphere.

He violated the order of superiors, showed negligence and carelessness while performing duty. Therefore, a departmental inquiry was initiated and Nayak was suspended from service with immediate effect for dereliction of duty, the order stated.

According to a police statement issued on Wednesday, after registration of case under section 75 (sexual harassment) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Hirebagewadi police station here, Ravi was taken into custody and handed over to the investigating officers.

However, Ravi was shifted to Khanapura police station considering the security aspect and the huge crowd gathered near Hirebagewadi police station.

"A large number of mediapersons, supporters and party workers gathered and created a chaotic atmosphere in Khanapura police station. There was also the possibility of additional supporters and Congress workers arriving. All these factors also had the potential to disrupt public order," the police stated.

Keeping in mind Ravi's safety, he was shifted to Ramadurga, it said.

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