Afghans hope for peace amid ‘violence reduction’ week

An Afghan refugee distributes sweets on the outskirts of Peshawar to celebrate the step toward peace agreed between Taliban, US and Afghan forces. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 23 February 2020
Follow

Afghans hope for peace amid ‘violence reduction’ week

  • The Taliban have ordered its fighters to refrain from visiting cities or government-controlled areas
  • US troops withdrawal is a tit-for-tat condition set by the Taliban during the talks

KABUL: Weary Afghans exhausted by decades of conflict expressed optimism on Saturday that a week-long reduction in violence could lead to a longer-lasting peace in the country.
Jubilant residents had danced in Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad’s public areas, as music blared from giant loudspeakers following news of the agreement between the Taliban and the US.
The armed group has committed to preventing suicide attacks, rocket fire and bombings — a key US demand ahead of a peace deal due to be signed on Feb. 29.  “We are smelling peace, let us welcome with good tidings this reduction of violence,” Mohammad Dad, a 46-year-old vegetable vendor in Kabul, told Arab News.
The US-Taliban agreement follows nearly a year and a half of concerted and secret talks between the two groups in Doha. The reduction of violence — if successful — would be followed by a gradual departure of foreign troops from the country and the start of an intra-Afghan dialogue.
The troop withdrawal is a tit-for-tat condition set by the Taliban, which has refused to engage with President Ashraf Ghani and his government.
Quli Beg, a university student in Kabul, welcomed news of the partial and unofficial truce as well as the prospect of peace deal being signed.
“The atmosphere is charged with optimism,” he told Arab News. “We fought against foreigners or among ourselves for over 40 years. Let us all give peace a chance and we have to unite and work for our country.”
The Taliban have ordered its fighters to refrain from visiting cities or government-controlled areas. A reduction in violence would also allow thousands of war-displaced people to visit their relatives in areas that were previously considered unsafe.
Sharifullah, who is one among tens of thousands of people displaced in the past 19 years, said he would try to travel from Kabul to the southern Helmand province after nearly 10 years.
“I have not seen my home, (my) village for a long time and I look forward to going there to see what has happened and see if we can return at some stage,” he told Arab News. “All Afghans, except warmongers here and outside, want peace.”
But there is scepticism in some quarters. “We pray that this leads to a total cease-fire, but at the same time since the a superpower is the main side of the deal, all Afghans must be vigilant and act prudently as superpowers during the course of history have acted cunningly and are skillfully cruel,” Karim Khuram, chief of staff for former President Hamid Karzai, tweeted.
Violence-reduction week comes at a time of increased political uncertainty in Afghanistan after the country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced that incumbent Ghani was the winner of last September’s disputed presidential election.
His arch-rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who has shared power with him for more than five years, also claimed victory. He has warned that he will form his own government, alleging that the IEC has not invalidated tens of thousands of fraudulent votes cast in Ghani’s favor.
“The opportunity for peace is at our doorstep and I hope we exercise maximum responsibility towards it,” Omar Zakhilwal, a former minister, wrote.


Filipinos push back against growing Israeli presence on popular tourist island

Local and foreign tourists catch waves at Cloud 9, a popular surf spot on Siaragao Island, the Philippines. (File/Reuters)
Updated 14 sec ago
Follow

Filipinos push back against growing Israeli presence on popular tourist island

  • Siargao is a premier surfing site and one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations
  • Facebook users accuse Israeli tourists of disrespecting local rules, harassing residents

MANILA: Concerns over the presence of Israeli visitors are growing on a southern Philippine island, locals say, as they protest plans to establish an Israeli community center amid fears of displacement and reports of tourist misconduct.

Siargao — a resort island off Surigao del Norte province in Mindanao — is the Philippines’ premier surfing site and one of the country’s top tourist destinations.

It has lately become popular among Israelis, whose arrival over the past few months has resulted in numerous complaints. Siargao-based singer and community organizer Maria Lalaine Tokong went viral last week when she highlighted that many of the tourists were “disregarding the culture, the customs,” of the place.

“We are feeling less at home in our home,” she wrote. “I speak up because I refuse to let our identity, our peace, and our safety be erased.”

Tokong’s post has since resulted in tens of thousands of interactions, with Filipinos sharing similar concerns.

It came against the backdrop of Israeli plans to open a Chabad house — a Jewish community center and place of worship — on the island. The plans have been opposed by the local community, which met Israeli embassy representatives in May.

“We don’t want it,” Tokong told Arab News. “When we talked about the cultural center with the Israeli embassy, we specifically told them, ‘What’s the purpose?’ We already have an education system. We already have a church here.”

With new officials taking office following recent elections, she is now preparing with other community members to take the case forward with the local administration.

In April, Project Paradise, a Siargao-based non-governmental organization, held a town hall meeting with residents and local business owners to gather their complaints.

“We received reports primarily regarding disrespect for local customs and values — ranging from noise disturbances, reckless driving, disregard for modesty in dress in rural areas, to environmental irresponsibility such as leaving trash on beaches or protected areas,” Sofia Nicole de Asis, president of Project Paradise, told Arab News.

While De Asis said that the incidents “are not isolated to any one group, and our stance has always been that misconduct is a behavioral issue, not a nationality-based one,” members of the Facebook group Siargao Business Classified 2.0 have been reporting Israeli tourists calling local staff “slaves,” illegally raising their flags on boats, trashing local homestays, violating the island’s no-noise curfew past midnight, and verbally and physically assaulting locals.

“They have no right to put up a cultural center as they have no roots or connection to Filipinos’ history. ‘Free Palestine’ today, so we won’t be shouting ‘Free Siargao’ tomorrow,” one user wrote, as others complained over inaction from the island’s administration.

“These people were welcomed into our country and treated with genuine hospitality, yet they choose to disregard our laws and disrespect our people and communities. The local government of Siargao should strictly enforce all local rules and regulations,” another user said.

“For the local government in Siargao, you better act. Remember you’re still part of the Philippines, you might one day be surprised that Siargao is now ‘the promised land,’” another commented.

Officials in General Luna, one of the main towns on Siargao, did not respond to requests for comment from Arab News.


UK students could face jail over support for banned Palestine Action

Police officers monitor protesters holding a banner during a protest in support of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action.
Updated 10 July 2025
Follow

UK students could face jail over support for banned Palestine Action

  • Ex-govt advisor urges universities to warn students of penalties for supporting illegal organizations
  • Palestine Action proscribed as terrorist group after members broke into Royal Air Force base last month

LONDON: University students in the UK face jail if they support the group Palestine Action, the former government advisor on political violence and disruption has warned.

Lord Walney, who wrote a report in 2024 advising that the organization be proscribed, said vice-chancellors should let students know the penalties that could be incurred by promoting the group’s policies, displaying its symbols or voicing support for it.

Palestine Action was declared a terrorist organization earlier this month after activists filmed themselves breaking into a Royal Air Force base in England. 

On Monday, 29 people were arrested for supporting it at a protest in Westminster, with some holding placards stating: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Penalties for membership of, or eliciting support for, proscribed groups in the UK include a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Protests in support of the Palestinian cause and against Israel’s war in Gaza have been frequent features across numerous university campuses in the UK since the outbreak of hostilities in October 2023.

In a letter to Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK — a body representing 142 higher education establishments — Walney claimed there was a “clear danger that individuals may be unwittingly lured into expressing support for an entity whose methods are not only criminal, but now formally recognised as terrorism,” and “Universities UK has an important role to play in protecting both freedom of expression and student welfare within the bounds of the law.”

He added: “Palestine Action’s deliberate strategy has long involved drawing students into criminal activity under the guise of legitimate protest, preying on the understandable sympathy for Palestinians felt by large numbers of young people to find recruits.

“With its formal proscription, the legal threshold has shifted: expressions of support, including wearing insignia, arranging meetings, or promoting the group’s activities — whether knowingly or through naivety — now risk serious sanction with students at risk of acquiring a criminal record for a terror offence.

“This risk clearly exists whatever any individual may think of the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action.

“My view is that the group’s systematic campaign of sabotage justifies proscription, given the fact that property damage is included in the legal definition of terrorism.”

UUK told The Times that it had “written to our member vice-chancellors to alert them to the fact that Palestine Action has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, effective from Saturday July 5, and to their obligation to ensure that staff and students are aware of this.”


A British F35 fighter jet stranded in India may finally fly back home after inspiring memes

Updated 10 July 2025
Follow

A British F35 fighter jet stranded in India may finally fly back home after inspiring memes

  • Jet has been stranded at airport in southern Kerala state due to technical snag, is being repaired by UK engineers
  • One of the memes shows cartoon in which plane is enjoying snacks with group f locals against a scenic background

NEW DELHI: A British F-35B fighter jet stranded at an Indian airport for nearly a month, sparking memes and cartoons on social media, is expected to fly back home as early as next week, Indian officials said.

The stealth fighter, one of the world’s most advanced and costing around $115 million, is stranded at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in the southern state of Kerala due to a technical snag and is being repaired by UK engineers, officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

The jet was on a regular sortie in the Arabian Sea last month when it ran into bad weather and couldn’t return to the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, officials said.

The aircraft was then diverted to Thiruvananthapuram, where it landed safely on June 14. Officials said engineers hope to repair the plane in the next few days before it could fly back to UK sometime next week.

The stranded military aircraft, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has triggered A.I.-generated memes in India. In a social media post, the tourism department of Kerala showed the aircraft on the tarmac surrounded by coconut trees and posting a fictitious five-star review.

“Kerala is such an amazing place, I don’t want to leave. Definitely recommend,” it said.

The state’s top official at the tourism department, K. Biju, said the post was put out in “good humor.”

“It was our way to appreciate and thank the Brits who are the biggest inbound visitors to Kerala for tourism,” said Biju.

Another cartoon posted on X showed the plane enjoying snacks with a group of locals against a scenic background.

The British High Commission confirmed to The Associated Press that a UK engineering team has been deployed to “assess and repair” the aircraft.

There has been speculation in India that if the engineers fail to rectify the aircraft, it could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane. The UK’s Ministry of Defense dismissed the speculation in an emailed statement.


Report: Japan, UK, Italy open to Saudi joining fighter-jet program

Updated 10 July 2025
Follow

Report: Japan, UK, Italy open to Saudi joining fighter-jet program

  • Tech sharing, and other issues need resolution, says report
  • Riyadh ‘encouraged’ to boost its nascent aerospace industry

DUBAI: Japan, the UK and Italy are open to having Saudi Arabia join their next-generation fighter-jet initiative, but only once the project has reached a more advanced stage and key issues have been resolved, according to The Japan Times.

The Global Combat Air Program is a joint effort to develop a sixth-generation fighter.

It will likely remain a trilateral initiative until after the GCAP International Government Organization, or GIGO, and the industry-led joint venture Edgewing sign their first international contract, likely by the end of 2025, the newspaper reported recently.

The GIGO, officially inaugurated on Monday in Reading, England, was established last year to oversee government-level coordination for the program.

Edgewing, launched last month, brings together the UK’s BAE Systems, Italy’s Leonardo, and the Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co., and is responsible for designing and developing the aircraft.

“There is no preclusion in having Saudi Arabia join the program, but we first have to define certain criteria and clarify all the points,” one source told The Japan Times, speaking after a virtual meeting between the GCAP nations’ defense ministers on Monday.

Riyadh has been “encouraged” to build up its aerospace expertise — including potentially acquiring and assembling Eurofighter Typhoons — before entering the GCAP, the newspaper reported.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, several other countries are said to have expressed interest in joining the program. These include two unnamed European countries, as well as one Middle Eastern and one Asian nation, according to a source cited by The Japan Times.

The terms of participation and contributions of any future member states remain undefined. Any expansion of the program would require unanimous approval from Japan, the UK and Italy.

The GCAP aircraft will be Japan’s first major defense development with partners other than the US.

It is intended to replace the aging F-2 fighter jets used by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force, as well as the Eurofighters operated by the UK and Italy. The new jets are scheduled to enter service by 2035.

With the conceptual design phase complete, the program is moving into detailed design and development, and a demonstrator flight is expected within two to three years.

Despite overall satisfaction with the program’s progress, some tensions remain, particularly around access to sensitive intellectual property and full technology sharing.

In April, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto publicly criticized the UK for not fully disclosing technology to its partners, in an interview with Reuters.

It is a concern that The Japan Times understands is still unresolved.


Bangladesh ex-top cop pleads guilty to crimes against humanity

Updated 10 July 2025
Follow

Bangladesh ex-top cop pleads guilty to crimes against humanity

  • Former inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Mamun has agreed to assist the court by acting as a witness, giving “all the knowledge he has regarding the crimes committed during the July-August uprising”

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s former police chief pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity committed during a crackdown on protests last year, while ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina was formally indicted, prosecutors said after the trial resumed Thursday.
Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations, when Hasina’s government attempted to crush a student-led uprising.
Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) is prosecuting former senior figures connected to Hasina’s ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League.
Former inspector general of police (IGP) Chowdhury Abdullah Mamun “pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity,” Muhammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor at the ICT, told reporters.
Islam said Mamun has agreed to assist the court by acting as a witness, giving “all the knowledge he has regarding the crimes committed during the July-August uprising.”
The court has approved separate accommodation to ensure Mamun’s safety.
The tribunal on Thursday also rejected defense lawyers’ request to have the charges against Hasina and her interior minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal dismissed.
Both Hasina and Kamal were formally indicted in the same case.
Amir Hossain, the state-appointed counsel for Hasina and Kamal, however remained hopeful.
“The trial is at an initial stage, and there are several other phases,” he said.
Hasina, 77, fled by helicopter to India as the protests ended her 15-year rule. She has defied an extradition order to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia opened on June 1.
Hasina faces at least five charges at the ICT, including “abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder during the July uprising.”
Prosecutors say that Hasina held overall command responsibility for the violence.
She was already convicted of contempt of court in a separate case on July 2, receiving a six-month sentence.
Fugitive former minister Kamal is also believed to be in India.