Former Taliban and ISIS militants surrender their weapons during a reconciliation ceremony in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on January 8. EPA
Former Taliban and ISIS militants surrender their weapons during a reconciliation ceremony in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on January 8. EPA
Former Taliban and ISIS militants surrender their weapons during a reconciliation ceremony in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on January 8. EPA
Former Taliban and ISIS militants surrender their weapons during a reconciliation ceremony in Jalalabad, Afghanistan on January 8. EPA

Pakistan quietly drops efforts for fatwa against Afghan Taliban


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Fearing a possible backlash from the Taliban, Pakistan has quietly dropped efforts to obtain a fatwa against carrying out suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Since being removed from power by US-led forces in 2001, the Taliban have waged an armed insurgency against Kabul and international troops, one underpinned by a strong religious ideology. The hardline teachings of the religious duty to carry out a violent struggle against an occupying force have motivated many to take up arms. Nearly 17 years after the invasion, as the US is looking to negotiate a long-term settlement with its stubborn opponent, many looking to degrade the powerful force see a religious decree from prominent Pakistani religious figures as necessary for talks to be successful.

In January last year, religious clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, condemning acts of terrorism in the country as un-Islamic. The decree was endorsed by over 1,800 religious scholars from different schools of Islamic jurisprudence and was hailed as an important step towards curbing extremism and terrorism.

The fatwa was notable for the number of clerics who had signed in the past, been seen as supportive of the Afghan Taliban and were otherwise outspoken critics of liberalism and the West. Among them was Hamid-ul-Haq, the son of a cleric widely regarded as the father of the Afghan Taliban because of the number of high profile militants – including Taliban founder Mullah Mohammed Omar – who graduated from his seminary in Pakistan's Peshawar.

Hoping to discredit the Taliban, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani criticised the ruling and said it should not have been limited to Pakistan.

"If they [Islamic principles] extend to all [of the world] of Islam, then it [the Pakistani fatwa] should first and foremost be implemented in relation to Afghanistan," Mr Ghani said.

Afghan soldiers enroute to Shah Wali Kot district during an operation against Taliban militants, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on January 6, 2019. EPA
Afghan soldiers enroute to Shah Wali Kot district during an operation against Taliban militants, in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on January 6, 2019. EPA

The Taliban, a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement, held power in the country from 1996 to 2001 and enforced their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

The group has long had roots that stretch over the border to Pakistan, with many Taliban leaders graduating from religious schools in Pakistan during their rise fighting the Soviet Union’s invasion of the land-locked country between 1979 and 1989.

Islamabad, as well as being among the first countries to recognise Taliban rule in 1996, has strong military links through Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence. In December, Pakistan used its influence to pave the way for the first direct talks between the US and the Taliban in Abu Dhabi since 2001.

________________

Read more: 

Taliban rejects US peace talks in Pakistan

Deadly Taliban car bomb hits Afghan special forces military base

Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah face off again for Afghanistan presidency

______________

During a visit to Kabul in October 2017, as the details of the fatwa were being agreed in the months before it was issued, Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa promised the Afghan government he would pursue a widened ruling. He said they would look for a ruling that covered Afghanistan, according to Mohammad Amir Rana, the director of an Islamabad-based think-tank Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

“Kabul believes the Taliban would lose significant influence if Pakistani scholars issued a decree against their armed resistance,” Mr Rana said.

However, after discussions at a meeting in Karachi a month after Gen Bajwa’s visit to Kabul, Pakistan’s religious clerics balked at the proposal.

“They unanimously decided not to intervene in internal affairs of Afghanistan,” said Mufti Muhammad Naeem, chancellor of Jamia Binoria International, a Deobandi seminary in Karachi.

Mr Naeem said he was initially in favour of the proposed decree but later changed his mind, fearing it could turn the Taliban against Pakistan.

“We did it for our country, but we can’t do it for Afghanistan,” he said of the first decree approved in January 2018. “If Afghan imams are not willing to issue a decree against jihad in their country, why should we do it? Also, Pakistan enjoys considerable influence over Afghan Taliban, so we don’t want to diminish it by issuing a decree against them.”

A delegation of Afghan religious scholars then visited Pakistan in October last year seeking to convince the clerics of a need to outlaw Pakistanis travelling to Afghanistan for militancy but that effort proved futile.

"Afghan scholars briefed us about their constitution which they claimed is Islamic in nature, and sought our support to issue a decree against the jihad," Tahir Ashrafi, President of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, told The National.

But the Pakistani clerics demurred. In the past, many of them had issued fatwas in favour of the Afghan Taliban and their struggle against Nato forces. “It was now difficult for them to recede from their positions,” said Mr Ashrafi.

A key difference between the Pakistan and Afghan contexts in relation to the proposed fatwa was the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan, which the Taliban and many Afghans consider invaders, Mr Ashrafi said.

The Taliban bases its claims to legitimacy on a narrative of a religiously justified struggle against foreign occupation and would likely resist an attempt by Pakistan to issue a fatwa against it, according to Mr Rana.

Fearing a loss of influence over the Taliban, by late last year the Pakistani authorities had decided to quietly drop the issue.

Pakistan’s foreign office declined to comment but reports indicate that at some point in November last year, Islamabad quietly told their counterparts in Kabul that the fatwa was off and it seems, at least for now, that whole idea has been shelved.

When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info

Karnataka Tuskers 110-3

J Charles 35, M Pretorius 1-19, Z Khan 0-16

Deccan Gladiators 111-5 in 8.3 overs

K Pollard 45*, S Zadran 2-18

The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic

Company profile

Name: Steppi

Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic

Launched: February 2020

Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year

Employees: Five

Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai

Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings

Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year

Manchester City transfers:

OUTS
Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Willy Caballero and Jesus Navas (all released)

INS
Ederson (Benfica) £34.7m, Bernardo Silva (Monaco) £43m 

ON THEIR WAY OUT?
Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony, Fabian Delph, Nolito and Kelechi Iheanacho

ON THEIR WAY IN?
Dani Alves (Juventus), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
 

Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

FA Cup semi-finals

Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)

Matches on Bein Sports

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Premier League results

Saturday

Crystal Palace 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 2

Cardiff City 2 West Ham United 0

Huddersfield Town 0 Bournemouth 2

Leicester City 3 Fulham 1

Newcastle United 3 Everton 2

Southampton 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Manchester City 3 Watford 1

Sunday

Liverpool 4 Burnley 2

Chelsea 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Arsenal 2 Manchester United 0

 

Avatar%20(2009)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Cameron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Worthington%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Sigourney%20Weaver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

MATCH INFO

AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports