How much influence is Pakistan’s army having on upcoming elections?
Pakistan is about to hold another poll as the opposition complains of unprecedented political repression. As Pakistan prepares for general elections, they are being overshadowed by concerns about fairness and political unrest. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan is in jail after being convicted on corruption charges and is barred from the vote. Khan’s rival, Nawaz Sharif, has reconciled with army generals and appears set to win back power. Khan blames the military for forcing him from office. Whatever the outcome of the vote, the economy is in trouble, with high youth unemployment, soaring inflation and an external debt of more than $120bn. How might this election affect Pakistan’s future? Presenter: Nastasya Tay Guests Maria Iqbal Tarana – General secretary for human rights of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Syed Ali Zafar – Senator for Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and a lawyer Javaid ur-Rahman – Journalist and parliamentary correspondent for The Nation newspaper Adblock test (Why?)
Biden defends order to attack Iraq, Syria, using War Powers Resolution and authorizations from 2001 and 2002
President Biden, on Sunday, sent a formal notification to Congress about executing airstrikes, saying his actions were “consistent” with the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Biden’s letter was sent just days after he directed U.S. military forces to attack targets at facilities in Iraq and Syria that are used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and affiliates to attack U.S. forces. On Friday, the U.S. launched retaliatory attacks in the two countries in response to drone attacks in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. During the attacks, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, airstrikes were conducted against over 85 targets, and after the attacks were confirmed, Biden warned, “If you harm an American, we will respond.” In the letter, Biden said attacks he reported previously against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq and Syria, have continued, expanding to a third country and putting U.S. personnel and Coalition forces at risk. WHAT ARE THE IRAN-BACKED GROUPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST He also referred to the Iran-affiliated militia attack that killed three service members and injured multiple others at “Tower 22” base housing in northeastern Jordan. In response to the continued attacks, the president stated, and at his direction, U.S. forces conducted “discrete strikes” on facilities in Syria and Iraq. “The strikes have been taken to deter the IRGC and affiliated militia groups from conducting or supporting further attacks on United States personnel and facilities and have been conducted in a manner designed to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties,” Biden wrote. “I directed the strikes in order to protect and defend our personnel and assets who are in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan conducting military operations pursuant to the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40). The strikes are intended to degrade and disrupt the ongoing series of attacks against the United States and our partners.” US LAUNCHES MIDDLE EAST AIRSTRIKES AFTER SOLDIERS’ DEATHS: ‘THIS IS THE START OF OUR RESPONSE’ The president also backed up the actions by referring to his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force in Public Law 107-40, and the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq written in Public Law 107-243. Biden also said the U.S. was taking action consistent with international law and based upon the United States’ right to self-defense, written in Article 51 in the United Nations Charter. “If necessary, I will direct additional measures, including against the IRGC and IRGC-affiliated personnel and facilities, as appropriate, to address the series of attacks against United States forces and facilities,” he wrote. “I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148).” IRAN-BACKED PROXY GROUP THREATENS MORE ATTACKS ON US TROOPS While the president leaned on Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) signed in 2001 and 2002 to justify the strikes, those were approved by Congress to allow the U.S. to fight in Afghanistan and to later invade Iraq. There is currently a bipartisan push on Capitol Hill to adopt new authorization for the current conflict. It should also be noted that Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution grants Congress the authority to “Declare War.” Another bipartisan push is underway in the House to repeal the AUMFs from 2001 and 2002. The Senate repealed the 2002 AUMF, but the effort died in the House.
Trump teases possible rally at New York City venues, predicts migrant crisis could sway Democrat voters
Former President Trump teased possible rallies in New York City at Madison Square Garden and in the South Bronx during an interview with Fox News that aired Sunday. “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if he believes he could flip blue states like New York and New Jersey, noting there is a rumor he is planning a rally in the South Bronx. “Yeah, I think I will do that,” Trump said of the South Bronx rally. “And I think I’ll do one maybe at Madison Square Garden.” “Do I think we have a chance? New York has changed a lot in the last two years. We have migrants all over the street. They are living on Madison Avenue,” Trump said. “Nobody can believe what’s happened to New York. The people of New York are angry. People that would have never voted for me because I’m a Republican. I mean, they’re Democrats. Their parents were Democrats. They would vote for Democrats. I think they’re going to vote for me. So I think we’re going to give New York a heavy shot. They’re very unhappy in New York. What’s happening? And they’re unhappy with the crime. You take a look at the crime in New York, it’s at record levels. The other thing is, and very importantly, New Jersey, I think New Jersey can be flipped. I think that Virginia can be flipped. I think that New Mexico could be flipped. And I think Minnesota could be flipped. And I’m not even sure that everything can’t be flipped.” NEW YORK CITY TO HAND OUT $53 MILLION IN PRE-PAID CREDIT CARDS TO MIGRANT FAMILIES: REPORT A native New Yorker whose real estate ventures helped build the New York City skyline, Trump has come under fire in the Empire State, where New York Attorney General Letitia James has been vying to drive the former president’s business from the state. Trump has repeatedly blasted James’ investigation as politically motivated. Also in New York, a jury ordered Trump to pay more than $83 million in the defamation case brought by his accuser, E. Jean Carroll, but Trump’s legal team has vowed to appeal the civil judgment. Trump’s remarks come amid a report claiming New York City will soon launch a $53 million pilot program to hand out pre-paid credit cards to migrant families housed in hotels. The New York Post, citing city records, reported on Saturday that 500 migrant families at the Roosevelt Hotel will receive pre-paid cards to help them buy food. The program is intended to replace the current food service provided there, the Post reported. GRAHAM GRILLS DOJ, DHS OVER ILLEGAL MIGRANTS’ ‘BRAZEN’ NYC POLICE ATTACK: ‘WILL THEY BE DEPORTED?’ “Not only will this provide families with the ability to purchase fresh food for their culturally relevant diets and the baby supplies of their choosing, but the pilot program is expected to save New York City more than $600,000 per month, or more than $7.2 million annually,” a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the newspaper in a statement. The Big Apple was also riddled with controversy after a gang of migrants beat New York City Police Department officers in Times Square. One of those illegal migrants involved, 22-year-old Jhoan Boada, flipped two middle fingers to news cameras after he was released from a police precinct following his arrest over the attack. Authorities reportedly believe at least four more of those migrants arrested and released after the incident have since fled on a bus bound for California.
Biden camp reportedly fears photos from special counsel classified docs probe could devastate re-election bid
President Biden’s team reportedly is fearing photos included in Special Counsel Robert Hur’s imminent report on the handling of classified documents could impact his 2024 re-election bid. Axios reported that Biden’s aides do not expect criminal charges as a result of the investigation, but they are concerned about potentially embarrassing photos included in Hur’s expected report that could be released as soon as this week. The images could show how Biden stored classified materials, which were discovered in late 2022 in the garage of Biden’s Delaware home, as well as in a private office he used. The classified documents were carried over from Biden’s time as former President Obama’s vice president. Biden’s aides told Axios that they are fearful former President Trump’s campaign could use the photos against the Democrat incumbent ahead of their likely 2024 rematch. Trump himself is facing more than 40 counts, including obstruction of justice and willful retention of national defense information, for improperly storing classified documents at his private residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida after leaving the White House following a probe by Special Counsel Jack Smith. BIDEN INTERVIEWED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL ABOUT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS With Hur’s report looming, Biden’s aides are concerned Trump’s campaign could attempt to contrast the handling of the two investigations. Hur, a former U.S. attorney nominated by Trump in 2017 and a former clerk for conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist, is obligated to write a report about the investigation, and Biden’s aides told Axios they expect the report could come as soon as this week, though the exact timing of its release is unknown. Biden has defended the storing of classified documents in the past. “By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, so it’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he once said. In a CBS “60 Minutes’ interview last fall, Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed to make public a special counsel’s report related to another matter – the one related to Hunter Biden – “to the extent permissible under the law,” and promised to explain the “decisions to prosecute or not prosecute, and their strategic decisions along the way.” 10 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN’S CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS “Usually, the special counsels have testified at the end of their reports, and I expect that that will be the case here,” Garland said. The Justice Department told Axios that Garland is also committed to releasing Hur’s report as well. Anthony Coley, a former senior adviser to Garland, accused the Biden team of slow-walking discovery in the case. “Against the backdrop of former President Trump’s indictment on charges of willful and deliberate retention of classified documents, the Biden team’s drip, drip, drip of information made the discoveries seem even worse,” he wrote in an op-ed.
Jake Sullivan doesn’t rule out US strikes inside Iran but insists Biden ‘not looking to get into a war’
National security adviser Jake Sullivan declined to rule out U.S. strikes inside Iran on Sunday, while still insisting President Biden is “not looking to get into a war” in the Middle East. Sullivan appeared on Sunday programs on CNN, ABC and NBC days after the United States and the United Kingdom began launching a massive airstrike campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Friday as part of retaliation for the killing of three U.S. service members and the injuring of more than 40 others in Jordan along the Syrian border. “The president has approached this with a straightforward principle, which is that the United States will step up and respond when our forces are attacked. And the United States also is not looking for a wider war in the Middle East. We are not looking to take the United States to war. So we are going to continue to pursue a policy that goes down both of those lines simultaneously, that responds with force and clarity, as we did on Friday night, but also that continues to hew to an approach that does not get the United States pulled into a war, that we have seen too frequently in the Middle East,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” Sullivan vowed “further action,” but said he would refrain from telegraphing the United States’ punches in the conflict. US AND BRITAIN CARRYING OUT NEW AIRSTRIKES AGAINST HOUTHIS “Inside Iran? Would you rule that out at this point?” Bash asked. “Look, sitting on a national TV program, I’m not going to rule in and rule out any activity anywhere. What I am going to say is that the president will do what he thinks needs to be done and again, reinforce the point that he’s going to defend our forces, and also that he is not looking to get into a war,” Sullivan said. Bash noted Republican criticism that the Biden administration should have responded before the three U.S. casualties given there have been more than 150 attacks on U.S. troops since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. “We have responded multiple times, before the tragic events of a few days ago. We have struck targets in both Iraq and Syria,” Sullivan said. “We have gone against IRGC and militia-linked facilities in both Iraq and Syria. We have taken out a militia leader in Iraq. So the notion that we have not responded is just incorrect. Second point I would make, is that I didn’t hear these same voices, which to me sound mostly like political voices, saying that when American service members were tragically killed by these same militias in the previous administration. This is a challenging, difficult issue. It has been for every president over the past 20 years, and every president has sought to defend American forces.” Iran, meanwhile, issued a warning Sunday to the U.S. over potentially targeting two cargo ships in the Middle East, the Behshad and Saviz, long suspected of serving as a forwarding operating base for Iranian commandos, signaling Tehran’s growing unease over the U.S. strikes in recent days in Iraq, Syria and Yemen targeting militias backed by the Islamic Republic. Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Sullivan said “the central purpose of the strikes has been to take away capabilities from the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria that are attacking our forces, and from the Houthis that continue to threaten Red Sea shipping, and we believe they had good effect in reducing degrading the capabilities of the militias and of the Houthis.” US TAKES ‘SELF-DEFENSE’ STRIKE AGAINST HOUTHI PROJECTILES POISED TO LAUNCH AT COMMERCIAL SHIP IN RED SEA “This was the beginning of our response. There will be more steps,” Sullivan told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “Some of those steps will be seen, some may not be seen, but there will be more action taken to respond to the death and the tragic death of the three brave U.S. service members. And we cannot rule out that there will be further attacks from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, or from the Houthis. We have to be clear-eyed about that. And the president, in being clear-eyed about that, has told his military commanders that they need to be positioned to respond to further attacks as well.” Sullivan, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also responded to criticism from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has contended Biden’s administration has been appeasing Iran. “I find it somewhat strange. The president made clear before we were attacked in Tower 22 in Jordan, before our brave service members were tragically killed, that if we were attacked, we would respond,” Sullivan said. “So Iran and its militia groups knew that the United States was going to respond. We think that those strikes had good effects. So, of course, there will always be armchair quarterbacks, but we are confident in the steps that we have taken so far, and we are confident in the course that we are on going forward.” Johnson hit back, appearing later on during the same program. “I do take issue with a little bit of what Jake Sullivan just said. I listened to that interview. It was interesting. We need to make absolutely clear to Iran that nothing is off the table. We should not be appeasing Iran,” Johnson told NBC host Kristen Welker. “That’s what the Biden administration has been doing for the last three years. We are projecting weakness on the world stage. And frankly, Kristen, that is why our adversaries are acting so provocatively. What we need to be doing right now is turning up the heat on Iran.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
El Salvador votes with Nayib Bukele poised for second presidential term
The country is voting in both presidential and legislative polls; incumbent Bukele faces virtually no competition. Voters in El Salvador are casting their ballots in presidential and legislative elections that are largely about the tradeoff between security and democracy. With soaring approval ratings and virtually no competition, President Nayib Bukele is almost certainly headed for a second term. For the first time since civil war ended in 1992, the Central American country will vote under a state of emergency imposed for Bukele’s gang crackdown that slashed homicide rates but drew criticism for human rights violations. Bukele, who polls as Latin America’s most popular leader, is also expected to expand his hold over the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador in Sunday’s elections. An estimated 69.9 percent of voters approve of his re-election bid, despite questions about its constitutionality: Before Bukele, presidents in El Salvador had historically been limited to one term. With little need to campaign for himself, Bukele focused on promoting his Nuevas Ideas party, which holds 56 seats in the 84-member assembly. The overall number of seats has been reduced to 60 under a reform he led, which critics say will make it much harder for smaller parties to get enough votes to get in. In 2022, the legislature also approved a law allowing Salvadorans to vote abroad. Under that reform, all foreign ballots – which tend to favour Bukele – will count towards the department of San Salvador, which has the most undecided seats, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, an NGO promoting human rights. Alternating in power for some three decades, the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) were discredited for corruption and inefficacy. Their presidential candidates have been polling in the low single digits. ‘Unwaveringly loyal’ Bukele, who often spars with foreign leaders and foes on social media, came to power in 2019, trouncing El Salvador’s traditional parties with a vow to eliminate gang violence and rejuvenate the stagnant economy. He has campaigned on the success of his draconian security strategy that saw authorities suspend civil liberties to arrest thousands of suspected gang members without charge. The detentions led to a collapse in nationwide murder rates and transformed the poor Central American nation that was once among the world’s most dangerous. “I would vote for Bukele because of the work he has done so far,” Juan Carlos Rosales, 44, a systems engineer in the capital San Salvador told the Reuters news agency. “The improvement in security is palpable.” Still, despite Bukele’s solid base, some analysts question how long voters will back his strongman approach, particularly as more people feel its sting. Under his rule, El Salvador has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, with an estimated two percent of its adult population behind bars. Bukele has credited his “mano dura” or “iron fist” tactics for causing that number to tumble to just 7.8 homicides out of every 100,000 people — the lowest in Central America. Rights groups have warned El Salvador’s democracy is under attack. Bukele has largely dismissed those concerns, at one point changing his profile on X, to say: “World’s coolest dictator”. His biggest challenge is the state of the economy, Central America’s slowest growing during his time in power. More than a quarter of Salvadorans live in poverty. The International Monetary Fund, which is negotiating a $1.3bn bailout with El Salvador, in late 2023 described the country’s fiscal situation as “fragile”. In a post on X this week, Bukele pledged to bring about changes. “There is still a huge amount to do,” he said, “but, step by step, we will resolve entire decades of looting and neglect.” Adblock test (Why?)
World Aquatics Championships in Qatar
The World Aquatics Championships in Doha features the highest number of athletes and countries in the event’s history, swimming’s governing body World Aquatics said. The event, which started on Friday, hosts more than 2,600 athletes from 201 countries competing across 75 medal events in six aquatic sports, with qualification spots for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris up for grabs. “We are humbled that more athletes and more countries than ever before have opted to compete in these championships,” said Khaleel Al Jabir, the event’s director general. The championships continue until February 18 in different venues around the Qatari capital. Adblock test (Why?)
EU: Postponed Senegal election opens ‘period of uncertainty’
The postponement of Senegal’s presidential election opens a “period of uncertainty”, the European Union has said, and the United States called for a swift new date for free polls ahead of opposition protests expected in the capital, Dakar. “The European Union … calls on all actors to work … for the staging of a transparent, inclusive and credible election as soon as possible,” EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said in a statement on Sunday. On Saturday, Senegal’s President Macky Sall indefinitely postponed the election scheduled for February 25. In a televised address to the nation, Sall announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list. He said he signed a decree abolishing a November 2023 measure that had set the original election date, but did not give a new date. Last month, Senegal’s Constitutional Council excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates. France, the former colonial power in the country, called for a vote “as soon as possible”, saying that Senegal should end “uncertainty”. “We call on authorities to end the uncertainty about the electoral calendar so the vote can be held as soon as possible, under the rules of Senegalese democracy,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Opposition presidential candidates said they would launch their campaigns in defiance of the postponement. Senegal has traditionally been seen as a rare example of democratic stability in West Africa, which has been hit by a series of coups in recent years including in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Police fire tear gas at protest Meanwhile, Senegal police fired teargas at hundreds of opposition supporters in the capital Dakar on Sunday, the first such clashes after Sall announced the election’s postponement, an AFP journalist saw. Gendarmes fired tear gas to disperse men and women of all ages, waving Senegalese flags or wearing the jersey of the national football team, who had converged in the early afternoon at a roundabout on one of the capital’s main roads at the call of a number of opposition candidates. The police then pursued the fleeing protesters into surrounding neighbourhoods, with some members of the crowd throwing rocks back at the police. Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reporting on the outskirts of Dakar says all 19 candidates of the opposition in the cancelled election have asked their supporters to gather in the area. “There’s a sense that the security forces does not want any gathering of sorts. But for the members of the opposition, until the decree is published on government papers, then the decree is not in place. The decree I’m alluding to, is the decree by Sall that the elections are cancelled; they are angry at this decision,” Haque said. “Some of the opposition figures that I spoke to said it’s a ploy for him to cling onto power, others describe it as a constitutional coup. A motorcyclist on the road shouted: ‘We’re going to burn everything down’. From every protester that we spoke to, they feel angry at that decision; they feel robbed from their ability to express themselves in this election cancelled by Sall.” Around 200 protesters blocked traffic on a main thoroughfare in Dakar with a makeshift barricade of burning tyres, Reuters reported. The crowds retreated into side streets after riot police fired tear gas and started making arrests. The police did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Further protests are planned outside parliament on Monday. Senegalese riot police lobs tear gas at supporters of opposition presidential candidate Daouda Ndiaye, in Dakar, Senegal [Stefan Kleinowitz/AP Photo] ‘Inclusive and credible elections’ The US Department of State noted Senegal’s “strong tradition of democracy and peaceful transitions of power” and urged “all participants in [the] electoral process to engage peacefully to swiftly set a new date and the conditions for a timely, free and fair election”. Senegalese politicians must “prioritise dialogue and collaboration for transparent, inclusive and credible elections”, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc said in a statement that called on authorities to “expedite the various processes to set a new date for the elections”. Opponents suspect that the president’s camp fear the defeat of his anointed successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba. Senegal cannot “indulge in a fresh crisis” after deadly political violence in March 2021 and June 2023, Sall said on Saturday as he announced a “national dialogue” to organise “a free, transparent and inclusive election”. The country’s electoral code states that at least 80 days must pass between the announcement of a new presidential vote and polling day – theoretically putting the soonest possible new date in late April at the earliest. Sall’s presidential term is supposed to end on April 2. Analysts say the crisis is putting one of Africa’s most stable democracies to the test at a time when the region is struggling with the recent surge in coups. Senegal has been embroiled in political tensions as a result of deadly clashes involving opposition supporters and the disqualification of two opposition leaders ahead of the crucial vote. Adblock test (Why?)
Jharkhand’s ruling coalition MLAs arrive in Ranchi ahead of tomorrow’s floor test
The JMM MLAs, after a three-day stay at a city resort in Hyderabad, left for Ranchi from the Hyderabad airport.
Meet ‘Vyommitra’, India’s female robot astronaut who will fly to space this year ahead of Gaganyaan mission; watch video
Revealing this in New Delhi, Union Minister of Science & Technology Jitendra Singh said the uncrewed “Vyommitra” Mission is scheduled for the third quarter of this year while a manned mission “Gaganyaan” is scheduled to be launched next year, that is 2025.