Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest

Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest
Supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has defied a crackdown to needle the government with regular demonstrations. (AP)
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Updated 05 October 2024
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Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest

Pakistan capital at standstill as Imran Khan’s supporters protest
  • Former prime minister barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases
  • Protests were also due Saturday in Lahore, however the main motorway linking the eastern megacity to the capital was blocked

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital was locked down on Saturday, swarmed by security forces with mobile Internet cut as supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan attempted to seize the streets in protest.
Khan was barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases.
But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a crackdown to needle the government with regular demonstrations.
PTI activists began driving to Islamabad on Friday from his powerbase in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but were met with shipping container roadblocks and volleys of tear gas.
On Saturday, small and scattered convoys pressed in on Islamabad in defiance of the government which approved troops for deployment on the streets — citing the need to guarantee security ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit due to open on October 15.
“I am so proud of all our people,” said a message from Khan posted on social media site X on Saturday afternoon. “You showed unfaltering resilience and courage as you came out yesterday and overcame unbelievable obstacles.”
Protests were also due Saturday in Lahore, however the main motorway linking the eastern megacity to the capital was blocked.
Amnesty International said the communications cuts and road blockades “infringe on people’s right to freedom of expression, access to information, peaceful assembly and movement.”
“These restrictions are part of a worrying clampdown on the right to protest in Pakistan,” the rights group said.
The social media site X — formerly Twitter — has also been blocked across Pakistan since after the election, when mobile Internet was likewise cut on polling day and PTI allege widespread vote tampering took place.
The 72-year-old Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote after falling out with the powerful military establishment considered Pakistan’s political kingmakers.
As opposition leader he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance before becoming tangled in slews of court cases he claims have been orchestrated to prevent his return to power.


Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign

Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign
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Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign

Harris, Trump nearly cross paths in North Carolina in final days of US election campaign
  • The close encounter was a dramatic illustration how the two candidates are focusing on a handful of states where Tuesday’s US presidential election will be won or lost

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Democrat Kamala Harris was greeted by an unusual sight as she arrived in North Carolina on Saturday: the red-white-and-blue airplane of Donald Trump, her Republican rival for the presidency.
As Harris descended from the vice presidential airplane Air Force Two at the Charlotte airport, Trump’s private Boeing 757 was parked on the tarmac nearby.
The close encounter was a dramatic illustration how the two candidates are focusing on a handful of states where Tuesday’s US presidential election will be won or lost.
It was the fourth day in a row that the candidates were campaigning in the same state. Only seven states, North Carolina among them, are seen as truly competitive.
Harris was arriving for a rally in Charlotte, the state’s biggest city, while Trump had campaigned in suburban Gastonia a few hours earlier.
It was not clear whether Trump was on board his plane when Harris arrived.
With the election just three days away, Trump and Harris stuck to familiar themes at their appearances.
Trump said he would deport millions of immigrants if elected and warned that if Harris were to win, “every town in America would be turned into a squalid, dangerous refugee camp.”
Campaigning in Atlanta, Harris said Trump would abuse his power if he returns to the White House.
“This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and the man is out for unchecked power,” she said.
More than 72 million Americans have already cast ballots, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida, short of 2020’s record early-voting pace during COVID-19, but still indicating a high level of voter enthusiasm.
Some 4 million votes have already been cast in North Carolina, and the western counties that have been devastated by Hurricane Helene appeared to be voting at roughly the same rate as the rest of the state, according to Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer.
Trump criticized the federal government’s response to the disaster and repeated his false claim that aid had been diverted from the state to help immigrants entering the country.
He also said that residents of US suburbs, traditionally seen as a refuge from crime and other dangers, are under threat.
“The suburbs are under attack right now. When you’re home in your house alone, and you’ve got this monster that got out of prison, you know, six charges of murdering six different people,” he said. Violent crimes dropped in the US last year. However, Trump and his allies have emphasized crime on the campaign trail and falsely suggested immigrants are responsible.
North Carolina backed Trump in 2020 by a narrow margin of less than 1.5 percentage points and elected a Democratic governor on the same day, giving hope to both parties.
Trump was due to rally in Salem, Virginia, though the state is not likely to back him for president, before returning to North Carolina for an evening rally in Greensboro.
POLICY DIFFERENCES 
Harris and Trump have very different policies on major issues including support for Ukraine and NATO, abortion rights, immigration, taxes, democratic principles and tariffs, which reflect that schisms between the Democratic and Republican parties. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that if Trump wins and Republicans control Congress, his party would “probably” repeal the CHIPS Act, passed under Joe Biden’s administration, which gave over $50 billion in subsidies to companies for semiconductor chip manufacturing and research in the United States. Democrats have seized on the remarks. “It is further evidence of everything I’ve actually been talking about for months now, about Trump’s intention to implement Project 2025,” Harris said Saturday, referring to a conservative blueprint to remake US government and policies that was written with the help of many of Trump’s closest advisers.
Johnson revised his remarks later on Friday, saying the act would be streamlined to eliminate regulations.


Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says
Updated 41 min 17 sec ago
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Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Air defense units trying to repel Russian air attack on Kyiv, mayor says

Ukraine’s air defense units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv late on Saturday, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram messaging channel.
“There was an explosion in the suburbs of Kyiv,” Klitschko said. “Air defense forces operating in the capital and its region. Stay in shelters!”


Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
Updated 02 November 2024
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Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists

Busts of Israel’s first president ‘abducted’ in UK university burglary by pro-Palestine activists
  • The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft

LONDON: Police in the British city of Manchester are investigating the theft of two busts of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann, from the city’s university chemistry building.

The busts were stolen in a late-night burglary on Friday, reportedly captured on a video that has been circulating online, where two masked individuals are seen smashing a glass case and removing the statues.

The Palestine Action group has claimed responsibility for the theft, saying it “abducted” the busts to mark the anniversary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which the British government expressed support for a “national home for the Jewish people.”

The group alleged that Weizmann played a pivotal role in securing the declaration, which they view as a historic step in the displacement of Palestinians.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed receiving a report of a burglary shortly before midnight, though no arrests have been made.

The University of Manchester, where Weizmann taught in the early 1900s before becoming Israel’s first president in 1948, acknowledged the incident and has cooperated with police in the investigation.

This theft coincides with a series of coordinated protests by Palestine Action across the UK, which included the targeting of offices in London and spray-painting University of Cambridge buildings.


Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements

Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements
Updated 02 November 2024
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Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements

Why both Harris and Trump have Michigan’s Arab and Muslim endorsements
  • The swing state could very well determine the outcome of the fierce battle to capture the White House and Congress
  • Many blame Biden administration for failing to use US influence to secure ceasefire in Gaza, end the war in Lebanon

CHICAGO: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the two major political party candidates, have secured endorsements from prominent Arab and Muslim community leaders in Michigan, a key battleground state that could determine the outcome of the upcoming US presidential election.

A recent Arab News/YouGov poll has shown Trump and Harris in a tight race among Arab American voters, while third-party Green candidate Dr. Jill Stein has also drawn significant support, largely due to her stance on the Gaza conflict, in a bid to capture 5 percent of the vote, enough to qualify the Green Party as a major political party in future elections.

Arab and Muslim Americans endorsed Trump at a rally in Novi, Michigan, on Oct. 25, while Harris received the community’s support in Dearborn on Oct. 26.

Appearing on “The Ray Hanania Radio Show” on Thursday, representatives of both camps argued that their candidate was better equipped to end conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, which the Arab News/YouGov poll identified as critical issues for Arab Americans in the Nov. 5 election.

“People have said, well, (former) President Trump talked about a Muslim ban. President Trump is no longer talking about a Muslim ban. President Trump moved the (US) Embassy to Jerusalem. It’s a plaque that was moved; it was not the 43,000 Palestinians who have been killed at the hands of Israel with arms provided by the US,” said Dr. Bishara Bahbah, a former Democrat who helped organize pro-Trump rallies in swing states like Michigan.

Criticizing the Biden administration’s policies, Bahbah argued that the current support for Israel would continue under Harris, suggesting that her presidency would lead to more civilian deaths and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon.

“That is unacceptable. The Biden administration’s policies will continue, and we will see Israel doing whatever the hell it wants to do against our people,” Bahbah added.

The Biden administration has faced mounting criticism from Arab Americans and the international community over its military and financial support for Israel, which critics argue has fueled escalating violence that has left close to 50,000 dead across Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, along with widespread displacement and injury. Washington has also been accused of failing to effectively leverage its diplomatic influence to secure a much-needed ceasefire.

Reflecting this perceived policy gap, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that “good progress” had been made toward a ceasefire deal in Israel’s offensive against Lebanon. However, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati cautioned on Friday that Israel’s “renewed expansion” of attacks could derail any potential truce efforts, indicating resistance to a diplomatic resolution despite over a month of war.

Bahbah believes the Gaza and Lebanon conflicts reflect weak leadership on the part of President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris, who assumed the Democratic nomination in August.

“You (Arabs and Muslims) have a choice between a Harris administration that’s going to continue killing our people, or you have a choice to vote for Trump, who has told us, me personally as well, that he wants to stop the wars immediately,” Bahbah said adding that the former president is committed “to lay the groundwork for lasting peace agreements in the Middle East that are satisfactory to all parties in the region.”

Arab and Muslim mayors, including Amer Ghalib of Hamtramck and Bill Bazzi of Dearborn Heights, joined Trump’s endorsement in Novi, Michigan, on Saturday, highlighting Trump’s outreach to these communities and his potential impact in the swing state.

Trump greeted his Arab and Muslim supporters at the rally, expressing confidence that they could “turn the election one way or the other.” At the same event, Imam Belal Alzuhairi endorsed Trump as a “peacemaker,” echoing Bahbah’s view that Trump is better positioned than Harris to “bring peace to the Middle East.”

This sentiment aligns with Arab News/YouGov poll findings that indicate many Arab Americans see the former president as more capable of addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Meanwhile, in Dearborn, Michigan, on Sunday, a dozen Arab and Muslim community leaders held a press conference to endorse Harris, including Ismael Ahmed, a co-founder and former director of the influential Michigan-based social services organization ACCESS.

Ahmed cited the ongoing violence in Gaza and Lebanon as key to their support for Harris, noting her recent hints at diverging from the current administration’s approach and supporting a shift in US policy toward implementing a two-state solution.

“The horror is true for all of us, all Americans. And we want it to end. We want to cease fire. We want equity for the Palestinians, a Palestinian state. And we want to live side by side with Jews and Israelis in particular,” said Ahmed who was joined by Arab American Institute President Jim Zogby and Deputy Wayne County Executive Assad I. Turfe on the show.

“They’ve suffered loss, too. And our heart goes out to them as well. We need peace,” he said, adding that “all of us, no matter who we are supporting for the elections, have been working hard to make that happen” and that the uncommitted movement has been a reaction to bring more attention and to force more movement on the issue.

Many prominent Arab American Democrats have refused to endorse the Democratic ticket this year, pressing Harris and Biden to adopt a more assertive stance toward Israel, including a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas conflict and an arms embargo.

The Uncommitted National Movement, a group of disenchanted Arab American Democrats, said it will not endorse Harris, citing disappointment with her response to community requests for a meeting with Palestinian families in Michigan. Reflecting the ambivalence many Arab Americans feel about their options, the Uncommitted National Movement also warned against a Trump presidency, which it claims would intensify military action in Gaza and increase suppression of anti-war efforts.

“Frankly speaking, Kamala Harris has been more sympathetic. We believe that’s real, but there’s been very little put on the table,” Ahmed said. “But when you match that to what Donald Trump is saying, he’s called for a Muslim ban, which he says he will reinstate the very first day he is in office. He’s called for internment camps. And none of us can have doubts that we’re one of the groups that will end up in those internment camps.”

Ahmed, an associate provost at the University of Michigan at Dearborn and former director for the Michigan Department of Human Services, warned that Trump’s stance on immigration and close alliance with Israel would pose significant risks to the community.

“(Trump) has called for the arrest and deportation by the military of 11 million immigrants. Some of them are our families. They’re mostly hardworking and contributing to the economy. In fact, our economy wouldn’t function without them. And on Palestine, Donald Trump opposes a Palestinian state, (he) has called for Netanyahu to continue his bloody approach to the war until victory, whatever that is. And I can go on.”

Until then, the Harris campaign had been unsuccessful in winning public endorsements from the Arab and Muslim leaders because of community criticism of her failure to stop Israel’s concurrent military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

Michigan, a swing state that Trump won in 2016 and Biden narrowly captured in 2020, could once again play a decisive role in the election. Of more than 5.5 million votes cast in Michigan in 2020, Biden led by fewer than 155,000 votes. With more than 200,000 Arab Americans living in the state, their vote could be pivotal this November.

“The Ray Hanania Radio Show” airs every Thursday at 5 PM on Michigan’s WNZK AM 690 radio and rebroadcasts Mondays at 5 PM on the US Arab Radio network, sponsored by Arab News. For more information on the show or to listen to the podcast, visit ArabNews.com/rayradioshow.

 


Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says

Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says
Updated 02 November 2024
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Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says

Microsoft ‘crumbled under pressure’ over Palestinian vigil, fired employee says
  • Hossam Nasr says he and Abdo Mohamed were targeted for ‘daring to humanize Palestinians’
  • Israel-linked lobby group broke news of Nasr’s firing before he was informed

LONDON: Two recently fired Microsoft employees claim that the tech giant targeted them over their pro-Palestinian activism.

Data scientist Abdo Mohamed and software engineer Hossam Nasr, both of whom are Egyptian, had their employment terminated on Oct. 24, the same day they held a vigil outside Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, for Palestinians killed in Gaza, The Guardian reported.

They were both members of No Azure for Apartheid, a pressure group of Microsoft employees who campaigned against the company’s sale of its Azure cloud services to Israel, including the Israel Defense Forces.

After his firing, Nasr said that Microsoft had targeted him and Mohamed for “daring to humanize Palestinians.”

The pressure group has demanded that Microsoft end all Azure links to Israel, disclose all ties with the country, call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and uphold employee free speech.

“Microsoft really crumbled under pressure, internally and externally, to fire me and to shut down and retaliate against our event, not because of policy violations, simply because we were daring to humanize Palestinians, and daring to say that Microsoft should not be complicit with an army that is plausibly accused of genocide,” Nasr said.

In a statement, Microsoft said that Nasr and Mohamed were fired for “disrupting the work of their colleagues” and hosting the vigil on company property.

But the pair reject both claims, saying that the event followed the same procedures as other company employee groups, with more than 200 Microsoft workers attending on the ground or virtually.

Nasr and Mohamed said that they communicated with Microsoft ahead of the vigil, and that police, who were called to the event, observed the vigil without taking action.

“(Microsoft) never, at any point, said that termination was on the table or even that disciplinary consequences were on the table,” Nasr told The Guardian.

Another controversy surrounding the firing involves an Israel-linked lobby group, Stop Antisemitism, publicizing Nasr’s dismissal before the employee himself had been informed.

Nasr showed The Guardian a phone log, showing that he was informed of his firing at 9 p.m. that day — 90 minutes after Stop Antisemitism had posted the news of his termination on social media.

He also claimed that he was the subject of repeated investigations for his pro-Palestinian comments in employee groups, while comments accusing him and Mohamed of being “members of Hamas” were ignored by HR.

Workers at Microsoft have reported widespread internal discontent over the firings.

One Palestinian employee told The Guardian: “It was unjust and very intentional as a message to the community to silence the loudest voice in our community.”

Microsoft is not the only tech giant to suffer employee discontent over its ties to the Israeli military. In April, Google fired more than 50 employees who protested against its links to the Israel Defense Forces.

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