PESHAWAR: Shahid Khan, who maintains a small kiosk in Peshawar’s congested Peepal Mandi, finds it hard these days to understand why so many people have been buying the famous Pashtun Mazari cap. “I can’t figure it out,” he said. “It’s rough, made by the same material that’s normally used to weave carpets.”
Other shopkeepers in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar are struggling as well to meet the increasing demand of this multicolored cap that originated in Afghanistan’s fourth largest city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Some people have rebranded the “Mazari” cap as the “Pashteen” cap.
According to some accounts, this is related to a random incident when a young rights activist, Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen, met a laborer who complained he could not afford a fancy cap to cover his head. In response, Pashteen decided to swap his headwear with the laborer’s.
This inexpensive cap acquired social prominence soon after Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen launched the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), the movement demanding rights for the Pashtun people.
Another shopkeeper, Muhammad Asif, who has been selling different headgear for nearly two decades, said: “Given the rising demand, these caps are now being produced on a much larger scale in Karachi. The Mazari or Pashteen cap has become popular since it’s now a part of people’s politics. I can say that confidently since I also sell similar products that people use in different political rallies.”
Asif also noted that there was a sharp increase in its price, though the Pashteen cap was now mass-produced.
“I like its design,” Shiraz Hussain, who bought the cap for Rs450 ($4), said. “I first saw its image in a newspaper and then in public rallies that were briefly aired on news channels.”
Pashtuns take their headwear quite seriously. Their tribal elders, for instance, are never seen without their turbans, or “lungee,” while attending a jirga. They also view their headdress as a symbol of honor and wisdom, and use it carefully to prevent its desecration.
In this cultural context, the Pashtun territories have also witnessed the rise and fall of different headgear.
Shopkeepers in Peepal Mandi recall, for instance, how the Pakistan cricket team’s green sports cap became popular after the country won the World Cup in 1992.
Some even mention the “Ghazi” cap that surfaced in the settled and tribal areas in the country’s northwest in the wake of a military operation against Islamabad’s Red Mosque in 2007. The cap was named after the mosque cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, who was later killed in the military crackdown. His red cap became famous overnight, and many of his followers in religious circles continue to use it even today.
Among the non-political headpieces introduced in this region are Karakuli and Chitrali caps, primarily designed to keep the user warm in winter.
Noor Bahar Khan, who runs a small shop in Peshawar’s Khyber Bazaar, specializes in making and selling these two types of beret. “Our business booms in winter,” he said. “The prices vary, from 300 to 3,000 rupees.”
Khan, who is now in his late sixties, lamented: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t get too cold in Pakistan these days.”
Meanwhile, in Peepal Mandi, Asif looked happy while selling the “Pashteen” cap, though he said: “I’m gradually beginning to wonder how long this one will remain popular with the people.”
The famous Mazari cap: now politically rebranded to ‘Pashteen cap’
The famous Mazari cap: now politically rebranded to ‘Pashteen cap’
- This inexpensive cap acquired social prominence soon after Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen launched the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), demanding rights for the Pashtun people
- The price of the ‘Pashteen cap’ rose significantly with the popularity of PTM
China warns Germany against ‘manipulation and smearing’ in spying cases
- German media reported that a Chinese man was detained by security guards before he was arrested by police after taking photographs at the Kiel-Wik naval base on Dec. 9
“We hope that the German side will... stop using so-called espionage cases to engage in manipulation and smearing, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in Germany,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
German media reported that a Chinese man was detained by security guards before he was arrested by police after taking photographs at the Kiel-Wik naval base on December 9.
The northern port is home to German naval installations and shipyards of the defense giant Thyssenkrupp, which builds submarines there.
Beijing on Friday said it was “not aware” of the specific case.
But Lin said China “has always required its citizens overseas to comply with local laws and regulations.”
Germany in early October said it had arrested a Chinese woman accused of spying on the country’s defense industry while working in a logistics company, including at Leipzig airport in eastern Germany.
Named only as Yaqi X., she allegedly reported to another suspected Beijing agent now under arrest, Jian G., who was working in the office of a German far-right member of the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah.
News magazine Der Spiegel, citing unnamed security sources, said that 38-year-old Yaqi X. had especially targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.
Malaysia to resume search for wreckage of missing MH370 flight
- Flight MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014
- Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, its transport minister said on Friday, more than 10 years after it disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the proposal to search a new area in the southern Indian Ocean came from exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had also conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018.
The firm will receive $70 million if wreckage found is substantive, Loke told a press conference.
“Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin,” he said.
“We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families.”
Malaysian investigators initially did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately taken off course.
Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
More than 150 Chinese passengers were on the flight, with relatives demanding compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and the Allianz insurance group among others.
Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to $70 million if it found the plane, but it failed on two attempts.
That followed an underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China in a 120,000-square-kilometer area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.
France’s Macron to visit Mayotte shantytowns wrecked by Cyclone Chido
- Officials in France’s poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than six days after the cyclone
- Some of the islands’ worst-affected neighborhoods, hillside shantytowns are largely inhabited by undocumented migrants
MAMOUDZOU: French President Emmanuel Macron was due on Friday to visit shantytowns in Mayotte ravaged by Cyclone Chido on the second day of a visit where he has faced calls to speed up relief to the Indian Ocean archipelago.
Officials in France’s poorest overseas territory have only been able to confirm 31 fatalities more than six days after the cyclone, the strongest to hit Mayotte in 90 years, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed.
Some of the islands’ worst-affected neighborhoods, hillside shantytowns comprised of flimsy huts largely inhabited by undocumented migrants, have not yet been accessed by rescue workers.
Macron decided to extend his stay and spend the night in Mayotte after residents pleaded with him to do so.
“I think it’s a sign of respect and consideration that is important to me and which allows me to see a little more of what the population is going through,” he told reporters late on Thursday.
During the first day of his visit, Macron faced criticism and boos from some Mayotte residents for what they called his government’s sluggish response to the cyclone.
Macron said authorities were quickly scaling up support and called for unity. In a heated exchange with a jeering crowd in the evening, he defended the government against charges it neglects Mayotte.
“You are happy to be in France. If it wasn’t for France, you would be 10,000 times worse off,” he said, using an expletive.
Aboubacar Ahamada Mlachahi was one of many people struggling to secure basic needs.
“What matters first is water, for the children. Before fixing the houses, before fixing anything, the daily life... We need water,” he told Reuters.
The 34-year-old construction worker, who is originally from Comoros, said his house was destroyed by the cyclone and he is now squatting on a hillside at Longoni, Mayotte’s freight port.
“Everything is gone,” he said.
Undocumented migrants
Authorities have warned it will be difficult to establish a precise death toll in a territory that is home to large numbers of undocumented migrants from Comoros, Madagascar and other countries. Official statistics put Mayotte’s population at 321,000, but many say it is much higher.
Some victims were buried immediately, in accordance with Muslim tradition, before their deaths could be counted.
Three out of four people live below the national poverty line in Mayotte, which remains heavily dependent on support from metropolitan France.
Chido also killed at least 73 people in Mozambique and 13 in Malawi after reaching continental Africa, according to officials in those countries.
Malaysia to resume search for missing Flight MH370
- Flight MH370 vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014
- Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, its transport minister said on Friday, more than 10 years after it disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the proposal to search a new area in the southern Indian Ocean came from exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had also conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018.
The firm will receive $70 million if wreckage found is substantive, Loke told a press conference.
“Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin,” he said.
“We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families.”
Malaysian investigators initially did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft had been deliberately taken off course.
Debris, some confirmed and some believed to be from the aircraft, has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
More than 150 Chinese passengers were on the flight, with relatives demanding compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce and the Allianz insurance group among others.
Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search in the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to $70 million if it found the plane, but it failed on two attempts.
That followed an underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China in a 120,000-square-kilometer area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.
Russia says attack on Kyiv was ‘response’ to Ukrainian strike with Western missiles
- Authorities also reported missile attacks in the southern port city of Kherson
- Moscow’s forces are advancing in the Kharkiv region that borders Russia
MOSCOW: Russia said it targeted arms industry and security service targets in strikes on Kyiv on Friday as a “response” to this week’s Ukrainian strikes using Western missiles on a chemical plant in southern Russia.
“In response to the actions of the Kyiv regime, supported by its Western handlers, a combined strike with long-range precision weapons was launched today,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
One person was reported killed by the missile strike, where AFP staff saw smoke rise over parts of the city after a series of explosions.
“According to preliminary reports, one person was killed,” the head of the city’s military administration, Sergiy Popko, said on Telegram.
Popko said Russian forces had used Kinzhal and Iskander missiles in the strike at around 7:00 a.m.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that, “as a result of the enemy attack,” two people were hospitalized and debris fell in four areas, setting cars and buildings alight.
“Emergency services are working everywhere,” he said on Telegram.
The blasts came after the Ukrainian air force warned of an impending ballistic missile attack.
“Ballistic missile from the north!” the air force said on Telegram.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference on Thursday suggested a “hi-tech duel” over Kyiv to test his claims that Russia’s new hypersonic ballistic missile, dubbed Oreshnik, is impervious to air defenses.
Ukrainian authorities also reported missile attacks in the southern port city of Kherson, where one person was killed and six injured, as well as several other Ukrainian cities and towns.
