June 2019
US condemns 'brutal' lynching of Tabrez Ansari, urges Modi govt to curb violence
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Wednesday strongly condemned lynching of Tabrez Ansari, a Muslim, in Jharkhand and called on the government to take concrete actions to prevent this kind of violence and intimidation. Tabrez Ansari, was tied to a pole and thrashed with sticks by a mob at Dhatkidih village in Jharkhand. Read More
Hindu mob lynched Indian Muslim over refusal to praise Hindu gods
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Yet in another instance of Hindutva terrorism, a mob in the Indian state of Jharkhand thrashed and lynched a Muslim man for refusing to chant “Jai Shri Ram” (hail the deity Ram) and “Jai Hanuman” (hail the deity Hanuman). 24-year Tabrez Ansari, a victim of the mob lynching that took place in Jharkhand on June 18, died on June 22 after he succumbed to his injuries in Seraikela Jail. A graphic video of the lynching was shared on social media, which enraged online users. Read More
Attacks against minorities by Hindu extremist groups continue in India: US Report
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The US State Department in its annual 2018 International Religious Freedom Report says Mob attacks by violent extremist Hindu groups against the minority communities, particularly Muslims, continued in India in 2018, amid rumors that victims had traded or killed cows for beef and the authorities often protected perpetrators from prosecution. The US report also said that some senior officials of the ruling BJP made inflammatory speeches against the minority communities. The report said that as of November 2018, there were 18 such attacks, and eight people killed during the year. On June 22, two Uttar Pradesh police officers were charged with culpable homicide after a Muslim cattle trader died of injuries sustained while being questioned in police custody, the report said. Read More
The Sobering Statistics of the ‘Displaced’ people
By Habib Siddiqui: June 20 was observed as the International Refugees Day.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)is a United Nations program with the mandate to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people, and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. According to the UNHCR, the population of forcibly displaced people grew substantially from 43.3 million(m) in 2009 to 70.8 m in 2018, reaching a record high. Most of this increase was between 2012 and 2015, driven mainly by the Syrian conflict. But conflicts in other areas also contributed to this rise, e.g., Iraq, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, as well as the massive flow of Rohingya refugees from Buddhist Myanmar to Bangladesh at the end of 2017. Read More
Pakistan forms Commission to probe external debt
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The government of Pakistan on Friday (June 21) appointed an 11-member Commission of Inquiry to determine if increase in external debt between 2008 and 2018 was justified by infrastructure development program or misused by public office-holders of the last two governments of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Headed by Deputy Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Hussain Asghar, the commission comprises the representatives of the Military intelligence, Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, NAB, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Accountant General Pakistan Revenue and special secretary of finance division. Read More
Erdogan denounces the West for watching Morsi tortured in prison cell
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Malaysia, Qatar and Turkey have paid tribute to former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi who died in Cairo’s Kangaroo court, but reaction from other governments has been largely muted. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday (June 17) attended a prayer service in Istanbul for Morsi. Erdogan has denounced those who stood by as Morsi was "tortured" in prison. "I am condemning the Western world and humanity, who watched Morsi taken down in a coup and tortured in a prison cell," he told a rally in Istanbul. Read More
Former President Mohamed Morsi dies in Egypt’s kangaroo court
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Egypt's former President Mohamed Morsi died in a kangaroo court Monday (June 17). The public prosecutor said the 67-year-old Morsi collapsed in a defendants' cage in the courtroom and was pronounced dead in hospital. Morsi had a history of health issues, including diabetes and liver and kidney disease. He had suffered from medical neglect during his imprisonment, compounded by the poor conditions in jail. Read More
India, Pakistan and China increasing nuclear arsenals size
By Adus Sattar Ghazali: At the start of 2019, the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea had a total of some 13,865 nuclear weapons, according to a new report by the Stockholm-based International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). That represents a decrease of 600 nuclear weapons compared to the start of 2018 but all nuclear weapon-possessing countries are modernizing (upgrading) these arms - and China, India and Pakistan are also increasing the size of their arsenals, the SIPRI report added. Read More
Pakistan's self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain arrested in London after 25 years
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Pakistan's self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain was arrested on Tuesday (June 11) from his residence in London. He was arrested in an early morning raid by a team of the Scotland Yard. The arrest has sent shockwaves across Pakistan as Hussain once ruled Karachi, the country's commercial capital, with an iron fist, shutting down the entire city in mere seconds with the help of his loyal workers, Anadolu News Agency said. Read More
Former President of Pakistan Asif Zardari arrested in mega money laundering case
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Former president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari was arrested Monday (June 10) by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in mega money laundering case. Asif Zardari was taken to NAB office in Rawalpindi where he was shifted to cell no 2. The charges in the latest case centre around allegations Zardari laundered vast sums of money through suspect bank accounts and companies. Read More
Russia to start sending S-400 missiles to Turkey in two months
By Abdus-Sattar Ghazali: Turkey will start getting S-400 Russian anti-missile systems within two months amid escalating dispute between Ankara and Washington over the purchase of Russian anti-missile system. "We will begin delivery of the S-400s to Turkey within two months," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov announced on Friday (June 7) during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He noted that the agreement was already entering the final stages, and that Turkey had made all of the payments on time. Read More
White House sides with India over dispute with Pakistan
By Abdus-Sattar Ghazali: Amidst new peace overtures from the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan government after the re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the White House has said that the onus is on Pakistan for sustained peace in South Asia by putting the "terror groups out of business". Read More
San Francisco Bay Area holds Al Quds Day rally
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Fremont, California, joined 16 other cities around the United States to stage Al Quds rally to express solidarity with the Palestinians. Al Quds Day, officially called International Quds Day, is an annual event held on the last Friday of Ramadan that was initiated by the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 to express support for the Palestinians. Read More
50 years of failure of the Organization of Islamic Conference
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: The 14th Islamic Summit Conference ended Friday Night (May 31) in Mecca. A final statement accused Iran of supporting Yemen’s Houthi rebel group; illegally occupying three islands in the Persian Gulf; and “interfering” in the domestic affairs of both Syria and Bahrain. The Islamic summit convenes every three years to make decisions about how to confront and contain conflicts and crises in Muslim-majority countries. The OIC today has 57 Muslim member-states and has held 14 summits in response to the challenges confronting the Muslim world. Since its establishment, the Islamic world has suffered several major catastrophes which have reduced it to almost a non-factor in international politics. The OIC has failed to respond meaningfully to any major crises or demonstrate any unity of thought and action apart from issuing high-sounding declarations at the end of each summit. Nothing was done to contain the crises or avert the tragedies. The OIC remained merely a silent spectator. Political observers say that the OIC political capabilities remain severely limited." Read More
Indian election results – Why and What’s Next?
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui: Modi’s victory on May 23 will be seen as a mandate to amplify bigotry and intolerance and the “othering” of Indian Muslims in a way that will affect itsso-called secular democracy beyond repair. As appositely put by Rana Ayyub (journalist and author of ‘Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up’ it is not just the excesses of the ruling party and its marginalization of Muslims that is worrisome; it’s that many citizens of India have found this new language of hate liberating and acceptable. If they allow themselves to be blinded permanently, Indian democracy – no matter how imperfect and illiberal – will simply cease to exist. Read More
Pakistan: Lt Gen jailed, Brigadier gets death for espionage
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali: Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has signed death warrants for two army and one civil officer on charges of espionage and leakage of sensitive information to foreign agencies prejudicial to the national security, the army announced Thursday (May 30). Lieutenant General (retd) Javed Iqbal Awan was awarded 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Field General Court Martial (FCGM). The FGCM also awarded death sentence to Brigadier (retd) Raja Rizwan and Dr Wasim Akram, who was employed at a sensitive organization. Read More
Book Review: Test of Character: Jeremy Wilshire
Cricket, they say, is a 'gentleman's game.' But in modern times, the aphorism has turned into a hackneyed cliché, resulting from the on field grubby sledging which has soured mutual respect and convivial relationships among international players. Read More
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
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