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Nawaz Sharif and daughter arrested on return to Pakistan

Nawaz Sharif, right, and Maryam Nawaz waiting at Abu Dhabi airport waiting for their flight to Lahore on Friday, 13 July, 2018. (Photo courtesy: @MaryamNSharif/Twitter)
Updated 14 July 2018
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Nawaz Sharif and daughter arrested on return to Pakistan

  • They can’t shake my resolve, Sharif tells reporters
  • Voters will see this as an act of defiance and courage, say analysts
Updated 14 July 2018
Mehreen Zahra-Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was arrested on Friday at an airport in Lahore and taken to jail as he arrived home from London.

His return came a week after an anti-graft court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for corruption in connection with his family’s purchase of property in the English capital.

Sharif’s daughter and heir apparent, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who accompanied him from London, was also arrested. She was convicted of corruption in the same case and sentenced to seven years.

In video footage filmed moments after their flight landed, Sharif and his daughter appeared somber but confident as they disembarked from an Etihad Airways plane.

“Yes, they have landed in Lahore and have been arrested,” Mohammed Zubair, a senior PML-N leader, told Arab News.

“This is a historic moment. Even though our party completely disagrees with the decision of the court, as law-abiding citizens they have arrived in Pakistan to face jail.”

Sharif and his daughter had been in London attending to Sharif’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, who is being treated there for cancer and has been in a coma since suffering a heart attack last month.

Speaking to reporters by phone earlier, while awaiting a connecting flight in Abu Dhabi, Sharif said: “Whether they arrest me here or after I reach Lahore, I am ready. They can’t shake my resolve.”

The return of the Sharifs to Pakistan comes amid widespread concern that the country’s all-powerful army is meddling in politics ahead of July 25 elections, and complaints that the news media is being suppressed.

Sharif has openly accused the military of working to sway the election in favor of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party led by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

The opposition Pakistan People's Party also alleged “pre-poll rigging” this week but did not specifically accuse the military.

Sharif’s first term as prime minister ended in resignation under military pressure in 1995 and his second was cut short by an army coup in 1999. In July 2017, he was dismissed from his third term as PM by the Supreme Court over revelations in the 2016 Panama Papers that the Sharif family had bought apartments in London using offshore companies.

Close allies of Sharif and his daughter said the pair had come back to Pakistan to launch an appeal against their convictions, which they will do on Monday and seek bail. However, their return is also expected to bear important political dividends.

“Their vote bank, which was confused after the verdict about what would happen to their leader, will be gelled together again and vote with more vigor and energy,” said veteran journalist and long-time Sharif observer Nusrat Javed.

“From today, things will turn from merely a sympathy vote into a protest vote. Until now, people thought Nawaz was not being treated fairly by the judiciary and the military. Now they will see him as being openly defiant.

"Think about the symbolism of a man returning to face jail with his daughter. Voters will see this as an act of defiance and courage. It will ignite protest and anger.”

Pakistan’s caretaker government moved quickly against leaders and supporters of PML-N around the country who tried to hold rallies and travel to the Lahore airport to welcome Sharif.

More than 10,000 police officers were deployed across Lahore on Friday to contain the protests, while internet and mobile services remained switched off all day. The Metro Bus, a rapid-transport system that runs through the city, was also closed for the day and giant shipping containers were used to block major routes.

In the afternoon, before the Sharifs arrived, Interior Minister Shaukat Javed said that anyone who tried to get past the Lahore Abdullah Gul Interchange, which leads directly to Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, “will be dealt with very strictly.”

In the past few days, police carried out dozens of raids across Lahore and arrested more than 400 PML-N supporters and leaders in what party leaders described as an attempt to prevent them from giving Sharif a hero’s welcome.

“I swear upon God this is worse than martial law,” said Hafiz Hassan, a PML-N supporter. His brother, a medical student who Hassan said is not involved in politics, was picked up by police on Thursday night, he added. “He had an exam today but they took him away forcefully. Who will make up for his missed exam?”

The authorities did not stop at arresting and intimidating PML-N party workers. On Friday, paramilitary rangers stopped Daniyal Aziz, a former minister in Sharif’s last Cabinet, as he drove in a convoy to Lahore on a major highway. A procession led by PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who served as prime minister after Sharif was dismissed by the Supreme Court, was also stopped on the motorway.

In addition, buses carrying party supporters from Faisalabad and Sahiwal to Lahore were halted and dozens of people were arrested after clashes with police.

Before he was taken from Lahore, Sharif said the “draconian crackdown” in the city and other parts of Punjab showed that authorities were desperate to prevent tens of thousands of people from reaching Lahore airport to greet him and show their support.

“This is the worst kind of crackdown on democracy and rule of law in Pakistan,” he added.

Despite this, a rally led by Shahbaz Sharif — Nawaz Sharif’s brother, the PML-N president and three-time chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and richest province — left the city’s ancient Lahori Gate area and made its way to the airport, flanked by more than 50,000 supporters, according to police and PML-N sources.

Live footage of the rally was screened by local news channels for several hours earlier in the day, but only still pictures were broadcast after the Sharifs’ flight entered Pakistani airspace.

Several journalists spoke about a forced media blackout of the Sharifs’ reception.

This is in line with severe restrictions placed on the media in recent days, with the army accused of intimidating major news organizations, such as Jang Group, into censoring content critical of the military, and preventing the circulation of Dawn, a leading English-language daily newspaper. Both are considered to be partial towards Sharif.

“Those who think they can scare us...open your ears and hear this,” Shahbaz Sharif said. “We are winning this election.”

Topics: Pakistan UK-Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Maryam Sharif Pakistan Elections 2018

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Swedish court sentences far-right politician for insulting Muslims

Updated 5 sec ago
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Swedish court sentences far-right politician for insulting Muslims

Updated 5 sec ago
The Danish-Swedish 42-year-old man, who was not named but has been identified by Swedish media as Rasmus Paludan
In 2022, Paludan, founder and head of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, made his offensive remarks directed at Muslims, Arabs and Africans during protests

MALMO: A Swedish court sentenced on Tuesday a far-right politician to four months in jail for two counts of “incitement against an ethnic group” after making hateful comments at political rallies two years ago.
The Danish-Swedish 42-year-old man, who was not named but has been identified by Swedish media as Rasmus Paludan, founder and head of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, had been previously convicted and sentenced by a Danish court on a similar charge, the Malmo District Court said.
In 2022, Paludan, founder and head of the Danish nationalist anti-immigration party Stram Kurs, made his offensive remarks directed at Muslims, Arabs and Africans during protests that he led in the southern city of Malmo in 2022, the court said. He also burned a copy of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book, on at least one occasion. In response, a violent wave of riots swept the country.
Some observers also say Paludan’s actions may have momentarily risked Sweden’s chances of joining NATO after increasing political tensions with Turkiye. Sweden joined the alliance in March this year.
The court in a statement Tuesday said Paludan’s remarks against Muslims “cannot be excused as criticism of Islam or as political campaign work.”
Chief Councilor Nicklas Söderberg, the court’s chairman, said: “It is permitted to publicly make critical statements about, for example, Islam and also Muslims, but the disrespect of a group of people must not clearly cross the line for a factual and valid discussion.”
He added that during the Malmo rallies in April and September 2022 “there was no question of any such discussion,” and that Paludan’s public statements “only amounted to insulting Muslims.”
The court took particular interest in whether the politician knew the protests were filmed and published on Facebook. Paludan had said that he wasn’t aware of it but the district court disagreed and said his “actions at the gatherings would be downright illogical if he didn’t know about the publication on Facebook.”
Paludan, a lawyer by profession, told Swedish media outlets that he wasn’t surprised by the verdict.
“It was expected. We will appeal,” the Swedish newspaper Expressen cited him as saying.


A Swedish court sentenced on Tuesday a far-right politician to four months in jail for two counts of “incitement against an ethnic group” after making hateful comments at political rallies two years ago. (AFP/File)

Philippine police to probe social media posts of Filipino-Israeli soldier in Gaza

Updated 7 min 25 sec ago
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Philippine police to probe social media posts of Filipino-Israeli soldier in Gaza

  • Department of Foreign Affairs confirms the Filipino soldier is an Israeli citizen
  • Photos shared by Israel Genocide Tracker which monitors soldiers’ social media
Updated 7 min 25 sec ago

MANILA/DUBAI: Photos of a Filipino appearing to be a member of Israel’s troops in Gaza will be investigated by the Philippine National Police, its chief said, after the man’s social media posts went viral showing a rifle with the PNP’s logo.

Screenshots of the posts showing Justin Flores were shared last week by the X handle Israel Genocide Tracker, which scours the internet to find and publicize the actions of Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

The content shared by the X account comprises photos and videos that Israeli soldiers themselves have published online.

The posts range from selfies and pranks among the ruins of houses to blowing up buildings in Gaza, waving women’s underwear and rifling through the property of Palestinian civilians.

The photos and videos from the social media of Flores showed destroyed neighborhoods in Gaza and himself posing amid the rubble.

Another post with the line “Proud to be Israeli/Filipino” shows a rifle bearing the seal of the Philippine police on the ammunition magazine. It is attached to a belt with Hebrew writing.

“I’ll have it investigated,” PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Marbil told Arab News in a text message on Monday evening.

“He is using a TAVOR firearm here. Not the issued rifle for the PNP.”

The weapon is an assault rifle, designed and produced by Israel Weapon Industries. In 2018, the Philippine News Agency reported the acquisition of Tavor rifles for the nation’s police and coast guard.

A screenshot of an Oct. 29, 2024 post by the X account Israel Genocide Tracker shows photos from the social media of Justin Flores. (X/@trackingisrael)

While the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said it was waiting for a report from its embassy in Tel Aviv, it confirmed to Arab News that Flores was an Israeli, while his mother held dual Philippine-Israeli citizenship.

His alleged participation in Israel’s deadly war on Gaza has, however, already triggered outrage in his ancestral home and questions over how his Israeli citizenship was acquired, as according to Israel’s Nationality Law, military service streamlines the process.

“Did he acquire Israeli citizenship by serving in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)? If so, it seems the IDF relies on fighters from overseas to do their dirty work,” said Renato Reyes, president of BAYAN, the Philippines’ largest alliance of grassroots groups.

“It is just shameful that a Filipino would be part of Israeli genocide against Palestinians. We were a colonized people, and we should have more in common with the Palestinians than the Israeli occupiers.”

Drieza A. Lininding, chairman of the civic organization Moro Consensus Group, said individuals joining fighting abroad should be tracked.

“Those joining the IDF and genocide against Palestinians should be treated as terrorists and must be arrested the moment they land here in the Philippines. This is in conformity with the Philippines’ vote in the UN condemning the genocide,” he told Arab News.

“The government must regard them as a threat to our national security.”

If such persons still hold Philippine citizenship, they may lose it under the Commonwealth Act 63, “by accepting commission in the military, naval or air service of a foreign country,” Attorney Farah Decano, dean of the College of Law at the Lyceum Northwestern University, told Arab News.

She said the unauthorized use of the PNP logo was also a violation. “The problem, however, is that the use is in Israel. Our criminal jurisdiction is only in the Philippines,” she said.

“It gives the impression that we are providing arms to the Israelis which the government must immediately deny. The Philippine government must request Israeli government for the confiscation of such arms.”

Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on Gaza have killed over 45,000 Palestinians and injured more than 101,000, according to Gaza Health Ministry data. But the real toll is feared to be much higher.

A study published by the medical journal The Lancet estimated in July that the true number of those killed could be more than 186,000.

The estimate took into consideration deaths as a result of starvation, injury and lack of access to medical aid as Israeli forces have destroyed most of Gaza’s infrastructure and blocked the entry of aid.

Topics: War on Gaza Philippines Justin Flores

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A week after Spain’s floods, families hold out hope that loved ones are not among the dead

Updated 10 min 4 sec ago
AFP
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A week after Spain’s floods, families hold out hope that loved ones are not among the dead

  • At least 218 have been confirmed dead after a deluge caused by heavy rains late on Oct. 29
  • Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing seven days on
Updated 10 min 4 sec ago
AFP

SEDAVI, Spain: Francisco Murgui went out to try to salvage his motorbike when the water started to rise. He never came back.
One week after catastrophic flooding devasted eastern Spain, María Murgui still holds out hope that her father is alive and among the unknown number of the missing.
“He was like many people in town who went out to get their car or motorbike to safety,” the 27-year-old told The Associated Press. “The flash flood caught him outside, and he had to cling to a tree in order to escape drowning. He called us to tell us that he was fine, that we shouldn’t worry.”
But when María set out into the streets of Sedaví to try to rescue him from the water washing away everything in its path, he was nowhere to be found.
“He held up until 1 in the morning,” she said. “By 2, I went outside with a neighbor and a rope to try to locate him. But we couldn’t find him. And since then, we haven’t heard anything about him.”
At least 218 have been confirmed dead after a deluge caused by heavy rains late on Oct. 29 and the next morning swamped entire communities, mostly in Spain’s Valencia region, catching most off guard. Regional authorities have been heavily criticized for having issued alerts to mobile phones some two hours after the disaster had started.
Authorities have yet to any give an estimate of the missing seven days on. Spanish state broadcaster RTVE, however, shows a steady stream of appeals by people who are searching for family members who are not accounted for.
María Murgui herself has posted a missing person’s message on social media with a photo of her father, a 57-year-old retiree.
“This is like riding a rollercoaster. Sometimes I feel very bad and sometimes I feel better. I try to stay positive,” she said. “This truly is madness. We don’t know what else to do. Neither does anybody else in town.”
Central government passes relief package
While many search for their loved ones, the gargantuan recovery efforts in Sedaví and dozens of other communities slowly moved forward.
To aid those in need, the central government approved a 10.6-billion-euro relief package for 78 communities on Tuesday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez compared it to the measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The package includes direct payments of 20,000 euros to 60,000 euros to owners of damaged homes, among other financial aid for businesses and municipal governments.
“We have a lot of work left to do, and we know it,” Sánchez said.
Sánchez said that he will ask the European Union to help pay for the relief, saying “it is time for the European Union to help.”
Many people are still without basic goods amid scenes of devastation
The floods have left behind post-apocalyptic scenes.
Street after street in town after town is still covered with thick brown mud and mounds of ruined belongings, clumps of rotting vegetation, and wrecked vehicles. A stench arises from the muck.
In many places, people still face shortages of basic goods, and lines form at impromptu emergency kitchens and stands handing out food. Water is running again but authorities say it is not fit for drinking.
The ground floors of thousands of homes have been ruined. It is feared that inside some of the vehicles that the water washed away or trapped in underground garages there could be bodies waiting to be recovered.
Thousands of soldiers are working with firefighters and police reinforcements in the immense emergency response. Officers and troops are searching in destroyed homes, the countless cars strewn across highways, streets, or lodged in the mud in canals and gorges.
Authorities are worried about other health problems caused by the aftermath of the deadliest natural disaster in Spain’s recent history. They have urged people to get tetanus shots and to treat any wounds to prevent infections and to clean the mud from their skin. Many people wear face masks.
Thousands of volunteers are helping out, filling the void left by authorities. But the frustration over the crisis management boiled over on Sunday when a crowd in hard-hit Paiporta hurled mud and other objects at Spain’s royals, Sánchez and regional officials when they made their first visit to the epicenter of the flood damage.
Sánchez’s national government is set to announce a new package of relief on Tuesday.

Topics: Spain floods Valencia

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Erdogan ally floats Turkiye constitutional amendment to let him extend his tenure

Updated 05 November 2024
Reuters
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Erdogan ally floats Turkiye constitutional amendment to let him extend his tenure

Updated 05 November 2024
Reuters

ANKARA: The main political ally of longstanding Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that a constitutional amendment should be considered to allow the president to run again in elections set for 2028.
After his re-election last year, Erdogan is serving his last term as president unless parliament calls an early election, according to the constitution. He has ruled Turkiye for more than 21 years, first as prime minister and then as president.
“Wouldn’t it be a natural and right choice to have our president elected once again if terror is eradicated, and if a heavy blow is dealt to inflation and Turkiye secures political and economic stability,” said Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which is allied with Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP).
A constitutional amendment to secure Erdogan’s ability to re-run in the presidential elections should be considered, he said in a parliamentary speech to MHP lawmakers.
Bahceli, a staunch nationalist, rattled Turkish politics last month by suggesting that the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could be allowed to speak in parliament if he announces an end to the group’s insurgency.
Some analysts said the shock suggestion might be motivated by an AKP-MHP desire to win the support of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, parliament’s third-biggest, for a constitutional change that could boost Erdogan’s prospects in 2028 elections.
A constitutional change can be put to a referendum if 360 lawmakers in the 600-seat parliament back it. An early election also needs the support of 360 MPs.
AKP and its allies have 321 seats while DEM has 57.

Topics: Turkey Erdogan

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A tiny village in India where Kamala Harris has ancestral roots is praying for her victory

Updated 05 November 2024
AP
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A tiny village in India where Kamala Harris has ancestral roots is praying for her victory

Updated 05 November 2024
AP
THULASENDRAPURAM: The temple reverberated with rhythmic Sanskrit and Tamil hymns, as a Hindu priest held a flame before the god. As this tiny South Indian village gathered to pray for Kamala Harris, a gaggle of reporters jostled for space and camera angles.
There's little to distinguish the village of Thulasendrapuram from any other rural community in Tamil Nadu, except its connection to a woman who could become America's first leader with South Asian roots.
As millions of Americans vote, Harris has people rooting for her from thousands of miles away in a village surrounded by rice paddies and coconut trees, where her mother's family has ancestral ties. They talk about her at the local tea shop. Banners and billboards bearing her face are seen throughout the community.
“Our deity is a very powerful God. If we pray well to him, he will make her victorious,” said M. Natarajan, the temple priest that led the prayers in front of the image of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva.
Harris’ maternal grandfather was born in the village, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) from the southern coastal city of Chennai, more than 100 years ago. As an adult, he moved to Chennai, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.
Harris has never visited Thulasendrapuram and she has no living relatives in the village, but people here still venerate the family that made it big in the U.S.
“Our village ancestors' granddaughter is running as a U.S. presidential candidate. Her victory will be happy news for every one of us,” Natarajan said.
The village's sudden fame has helped bring money into the village. Recently, construction began on a water storage tank with funds donated by a local bank. Village residents say it will carry a plaque with Harris’ name.
Harris’ late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in India. After moving to the U.S. to study, she married a Jamaican man, and they named their daughter Kamala, a Sanskrit word for “lotus flower.”
Other than trips during her childhood, Harris hasn’t visited India much — particularly not since becoming vice president — but she has often spoken emotionally about her ties to her late mother’s country of birth. On Tuesday, she released a campaign video highlighting her mother, who arrived in the U.S. at age 19 and became a cancer researcher.
Titled “Mother,” the video ends with a narrator saying: “This daughter of Shyamala, this daughter of the American story, is ready to lead us forward.”
Harris has often talked about how she was guided by the values of her Indian-born grandfather and mother. She has also spoken of her love of south Indian food, especially a type of steamed rice cake called idli.
Harris’ name is engraved in a list of donors — her aunt Sarala Gopalan gave money to the temple in her name — along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.
On Tuesday, the village temple also received rare international visitors: two American tourists and one from the U.K., all wearing black t-shirts that said “Kamala Freakin Harris.”
Manikandan Ganesan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said Harris’ bid for the presidency has made the village famous. He hopes Harris will eventually visit them.
“Even if she mentioned that she would visit our village, it would make us very happy,” Ganesan said. “Her victory itself will be a big source of happiness for us.”
Village residents also prayed for Harris’ victory in 2020, and set off firecrackers when she became the U.S. Vice President.
For women of the village, the candidate's journey is a source of inspiration.
Local politician Arulmozhi Sudhakar said Harris embodies a significant step toward female empowerment in places like Thulasendrapuram, where a majority of women continue to face discrimination and gender inequality.
“From the time when women were not even allowed to step out of their house, to now a woman from our village contesting in the U.S. presidential election — this brings happiness for us,” Sudhakar said. “The coming generations will see her as a role model to succeed in life.”

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