Israeli forces attacked ‘known aid worker locations’ in Gaza: Rights group
Human Rights Watch says aid workers’ convoys and facilities have been targeted at least eight times since last October. Israeli forces have attacked humanitarian aid convoys and buildings in the Gaza Strip at least eight times since October despite being given coordinates to ensure their protection, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said in a new report. At least 31 aid workers and their companions were killed, the international rights group said in a new report published on Tuesday. “Israeli authorities did not issue advance warnings to any of the aid organisations before the strikes,” the report said. “The eight incidents reveal fundamental flaws with the so-called deconfliction system, meant to protect aid workers and allow them to safely deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” it added. At least 254 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the United Nations, when the current conflict erupted. Of them, 188 are personnel from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the report said. On Monday, a UN vehicle was hit on the way to a hospital in Gaza, killing at least one UN staff member and injuring at least one more. The HRW report said aid workers have also been unable to leave Gaza since Israeli forces seized control of and closed the Rafah crossing on May 7. During a recent visit to Cairo and northern Sinai, near the border between Egypt and Gaza, HRW met with staff from 11 humanitarian organisations and UN aid agencies operating in Gaza. They said Israeli attacks on aid workers had forced them to take various measures that for some included suspending activities for a period of time, reducing their staff inside Gaza, or severely restricting their aid activities in other ways. (Al Jazeera) Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker said that the United States started pressuring Israel to stop striking aid workers after it hit a convoy of the US-based charity World Central Kitchen in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on April 1, killing seven people and triggering global outrage. “It hit home in a different way, in a different way, unfortunately, that 35,000 Palestinians dead simply doesn’t,” Dekker said. The deadly attack on a UN vehicle showed that Israel has not changed anything, according to Dekker, who added that Israel has also not done enough to stop Israeli protesters from blocking and destroying aid trucks heading to Gaza. The latest target was a Jordanian convoy which had to go through the occupied West Bank to reach the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip. Right-wing Israeli protesters blocked it and set it on fire after looting it, Dekker reported. The other attacks HRW documented include one on a Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) convoy on November 18, on a UNRWA guest house on December 9 and on an International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) guest house on January 18. “Israel’s allies need to recognize that these attacks that have killed aid workers have happened over and over again, and they need to stop,” said Belkis Wille, associate director at HRW. The HRW report also found that Israeli authorities are using starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza. “Pursuant to a policy set out by Israeli officials and carried out by Israeli forces, the Israeli authorities are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food and fuel, willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival,” the organisation said. “Children in Gaza have been dying from starvation-related complications,” it added. Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinians mark 76 years of Nakba as new tragedy unfolds in Gaza
Palestinians will mark the 76th anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle. But in many ways, that experience pales in comparison to the calamity now unfolding in Gaza. Palestinians refer to the anniversary, which they will observe on Wednesday, as the “Nakba”, Arabic for “catastrophe”. Some 700,000 Palestinians, a majority of the pre-war population, fled or were driven from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment. After the war, Israel refused to allow them to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. Instead, they became a seemingly permanent refugee community that now numbers some six million, with most living in slum-like urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In the Gaza Strip, the refugees and their descendants make up about three-quarters of the population. Israel’s rejection of what Palestinians say is their right to return has been a core grievance in the conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last collapsed 15 years ago. Now, many Palestinians fear a repeat of their painful history on an even more cataclysmic scale. All across Gaza, Palestinians in recent days have been loading up cars and donkey carts or setting out on foot to already overcrowded tent camps as Israel expands its offensive once again. The war on Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, making it by far the deadliest round of fighting in the history of the long conflict. About 1.7 million Palestinians, three-quarters of the besieged enclave’s population, have been forced to flee their homes, most of them multiple times. That is well more than twice the number that fled before and during the 1948 war. Even if Palestinians are not expelled from Gaza en masse, many fear that they will never be able to return to their homes or that the destruction wreaked on the territory will make it impossible to live there. A recent United Nations estimate said it would take until 2040 to rebuild destroyed homes in the enclave. Israel has unleashed one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history in Gaza, dropping 900kg (2,000-pound) bombs on densely populated areas. Entire neighbourhoods have been reduced to wastelands of rubble and ploughed-up roads, many littered with unexploded bombs. The World Bank estimates that $18.5bn in damage has been inflicted, roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of the entire Palestinian territory in 2022. And that was in January, in the early days of Israel’s devastating ground operations in Khan Younis and before its military went into Rafah. Adblock test (Why?)
Gaza ceasefire deadlocked as Israel’s Rafah attacks set talks ‘backward’
Qatar says mediation efforts are being hampered by Israel’s offensive on Gaza’s southern city. Israel’s military operation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah has set ceasefire negotiations with Hamas “backward”, mediator Qatar has said, adding that the talks have lost steam. “Especially in the past few weeks, we have seen some momentum building but unfortunately things didn’t move in the right direction and right now we are on a status of almost a stalemate,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha on Tuesday. “Of course, what happened with Rafah has set us backward.” Qatar has been engaged in months of mediation between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, along with Egypt and the United States. On Tuesday morning, Israeli forces pushed deeper into eastern Rafah, entering the neighbourhoods of al-Jnaina, as-Salam and Brazil, as it prepared to expand its military operation. The Israeli army issued evacuation orders, forcing tens of thousands more Palestinians to flee, despite US warnings against a full-scale assault on the southern city that is crowded with displaced people. Israeli forces were also continuing to operate with extreme force in Jabalia city, Jabalia refugee camp and surrounding areas in northern Gaza. Israeli tanks, bulldozers and armoured vehicles were surrounding United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools that were turned into shelters for hundreds of displaced families. An air strike on a residential building to the south of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least 14 people, while Israeli fighter jets also attacked a school in the refugee camp where a fire broke out, according to reports. Sheikh Mohammed said there was no clarity on how to stop the war from the Israeli side. “I don’t think that they are considering this as an option … even when we are talking about the deal and leading to a potential ceasefire,” he said. Israeli politicians were indicating “by their statements that they will remain there, they will continue the war”, he said, adding that “there is no clarity on what Gaza will look like after this”. Sheikh Mohammed said the fundamental difference between the two parties was over the release of captives and ending the war. “There is one party that wants to end the war and then talk about the hostages and there is another party who wants the hostages and wants to continue the war,” he said. “As long as there is not any commonality between those two things it won’t get us to a result.” Israel is determined to press ahead with its offensive on Rafah – considered the last refuge in Gaza, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians were sheltering – in defiance of warnings from the UN and its allies, including its key backer, the US. Israeli military operations have forced some 150,000 people to flee over the past week to areas devastated by previous attacks. The displaced were mainly heading towards Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said Deir el-Balah was running out of space as people poured in, looking for shelter. Adblock test (Why?)
Paris 2024: China gives table tennis legend Ma another shot at Olympic gold
Ma Long’s inclusion in China’s table tennis squad gives the 35-year-old a chance to win gold in his fourth consecutive Olympics. China’s Ma Long will get a shot at winning a sixth Olympic gold medal in Paris in August despite having been denied the chance to claim a third straight singles title at his fourth Summer Games. The 14-time world champion, now 35, won team golds at all three of his previous Olympics and back-to-back men’s singles titles in Rio and Tokyo to become the most successful table tennis Olympian of all time. Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, who lost to Ma in the Tokyo final, were named as China’s entries for the singles last week but Ma was confirmed by the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) on Tuesday as the third player for the team tournament. There were no surprises in the women’s team who will seek to continue China’s domination of the sport with the lineup for Paris identical to that which swept the board in Tokyo. Reigning champion and world number two Chen Meng and world number one Sun Yingsha will again compete in the women’s singles and join up with world number three Wang Manyu in the team event, where China are also defending champions. China have won 32 of the 37 golds and 60 of the 155 total medals since the sport was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1988, and the competition for a spot on the national team is fierce. The mixed doubles, a new event in Tokyo, was the one gold medal China missed out on three years ago and Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, who top the world rankings, will pair up to try and end that anomaly in Paris. World number four pair Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi will be the substitute players for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively, the CTTA said in a statement. The 2024 Olympic table tennis events will take place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 27 to August 10. Adblock test (Why?)
Number of internally displaced people hit new record in 2023: Report
Conflicts in Sudan and Gaza drove millions from their homes in 2023. The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) around the globe hit a record 75.9 million in 2023, an NGO monitor has found. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) said in a report released on Tuesday that 7.7 million people were displaced by disasters and 68.3 million by conflict and violence. The wars in Sudan and Gaza helped push the numbers to the new record. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen alarming new levels of people having to flee their homes due to conflict and violence, even in regions where the trend had been improving,” IDMC director Alexandra Bilak said. “Conflict, and the devastation it leaves behind, is keeping millions from rebuilding their lives, often for years on end.” While refugees are those who have fled abroad, internal displacement refers to the forced movement of people within the country in which they live. The end-of-year record was a significant increase from 71.1 million recorded at the end of 2022. Over the last five years, the figure increased by more than 50 percent, the IDMC said. Conflict-driven The number of IDPs resulting from conflict increased by 22.6 million last year, with the two biggest increases in 2022 and 2023. Sudan has the highest number of IDPs recorded for a single country since records began in 2008, the monitor said, with an estimated 9.1 million people displaced. Almost half of all IDPs live in sub-Saharan Africa. Fighting in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Palestinian territory accounted for nearly two-thirds of new movements of people due to conflict in 2023. In the Gaza Strip, 1.7 million Palestinians were internally displaced by the end of 2023, after Israel launched a war following an attack by Hamas on October 7. The monitor, which also keeps track of each new forced movement of a person within their borders, said there were 3.4 million new movements as people were displaced several times over in the enclave. Of the 26.4 million forced movements due to disasters, a third were in China and Turkey as a result of severe weather events and strong earthquakes. The report warned that displacement often lasts for long periods due to infrastructure damage and institutional disruption. In Syria, the number of internally displaced people reached a peak of 7.6 million in 2014. However, the number still stood at 7.2 million last year, despite a significant reduction in violence. The IDMC was created by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 1998. Jan Egeland, NRC’s chief, said the monitor had never recorded so many people forced away from their homes and communities. “It is a damning verdict on the failures of conflict prevention and peace-making,” Egeland said. “The lack of protection and assistance that millions endure cannot be allowed to continue.” Adblock test (Why?)
Unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir: What’s behind the recent protests?
Islamabad, Pakistan — Protesters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir have called for shutdowns and the declaration of a “black day” on Tuesday after blaming paramilitary forces for killing three young men and injuring several others on Monday evening. A protest convoy, led by a group called the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), has been marching towards Muzaffarabad since May 11, the capital of the autonomous region bordering India, over demands including subsidised flour and electricity. However, on Monday evening, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a 23 billion rupee ($82m) subsidy programme, drastically reducing the price of wheat and flour. Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the chairman of the JAAC, said the group had planned to turn their protest in to a celebration after the government’s decision to meet their demands, but will now protest against the killings. “Our protesters were completely peaceful but the government’s decision to call in rangers meant that they wanted to use force against us, and now we see that three people were killed,” he told Al Jazeera. The regional government also issued a notification ordering the closure of government offices and all educational institutions in the region. The protests, which started over the weekend, also saw the partial suspension of mobile internet services as well in some regions. Pakistani government officials have hinted, on social media, at “enemy propaganda” fanning the tensions — an apparent allusion to India, with which Pakistan has fought three wars over Kashmir. But officially, Islamabad has not blamed India for the crisis it faces in Pakistan-administered Kashmir just yet. On Sunday, Sharif expressed “deep concerns” over the situation, saying that while protest is a democratic right, no one should take the law into their own hands. “Unfortunately, in situations of chaos and dissent, there are always some who rush in to score political points. While debate, discussion and peaceful protests are the beauties of democracy, there should be absolutely no tolerance for taking the law in one’s own hands and damaging government properties,” he wrote in a message on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Deeply concerned about the situation in AJK. Unfortunately in situations of chaos and dissent there are always some who rush in to score political points. While debate, discussion and peaceful protests are the beauties of democracy , there should be absolutely no tolerance for… — Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 12, 2024 Here is a look at what the protesters have been demanding and how the government has responded so far. What are the protests about? The Kashmir valley is the picturesque, but contentious Himalayan region over which Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. The region is claimed in full by both, but each governs parts of it. With a population of more than four million, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, locally known as Azad Jammu Kashmir, has a semiautonomous government with its own prime minister. According to Imtiaz Aslam, a senior leader of the 31-member JAAC which includes labour leaders, traders, transporters and other civil society members in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, their demands go back a year to May 2023. “Our movement began last year when there was a massive wheat crisis leading to increased prices of flour, and after that there was a major increase in electricity rates, following which we began our protests and made demands to reduce the prices,” he told Al Jazeera. Aslam, who was speaking from the region’s Bagh district while leading a convoy of hundreds of people to the regional capital, Muzaffarabad, roughly 75km (46 miles) north, said the protesters were also urging the government to rein in spending on officials. The protesters allege that slashing the bureaucracy of Pakistan-administered Kashmir could ensure it has more resources to spend on the public. “’Civil society people are protesting all over the world. The problem here is that as soon as you make any demands, you are accused of being an agent and silenced,” he said. What are the protesters’ demands? According to Aslam of the JAAC, the residents put forward 10 demands before the government, nine of which the government agreed to in February but has failed to deliver. The demands included the provision of subsidised flour, the provision of electricity at its production cost, and improved financial integration with the rest of Pakistan, allowing the bank in the region to open branches in other parts of the country. The JAAC says the government agreed to all of the demands except for reducing electricity prices. Protesters say the people of Pakistan-administered Kashmir should get electricity at cost since it is generated locally, through Mangla Dam, situated in the Mirpur district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Aslam, the senior leader, said three months later, the government is yet to meet any of those demands. “On February 4, we were told by the government representatives that our demands will be met except the electricity rate and promised to deliver on them within a month. Yet here we are, when instead of fulfilling our demands, they have unleashed brutal violence on our peaceful demonstrations,” the leader said. However, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, commissioner of Mirpur, says under Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, the prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the regional administration had already reduced prices of electricity and flour. But protesters say the reductions do not go far enough. “The protesters are only shifting goalposts, as they keep coming up with new demands,” Ali said, suggesting that the demand to lower electricity prices to production cost was new. “This is not how it is done.” Kashmiris in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi rallied to support the protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir [Shahzaib Akber/EPA] What is the latest situation? As tensions grew during protests over the last few days, the regional government called in paramilitary forces and deployed extra police. The JAAC claims some of its leadership was arrested pre-emptively by law enforcement officials, prompting them to call for a general strike on May 10. That was followed by a call for protests
Turkey’s Erdogan meets Greek PM, sees ‘no unsolvable problems’ in ties
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitotakis that there were “no unsolvable problems” between their countries as the leaders met in Ankara. Turkey and Greece have long been at odds over issues including maritime boundaries, energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, flights over the Aegean Sea, and the division of Cyprus. Since both leaders were re-elected last year, they have started taking high-profile steps to improve ties. “Despite disagreements, we focus on a positive agenda by keeping our dialogue channels open,” Erdogan told a joint news conference with Mitsotakis on Monday. “We showed today that alongside our proven disagreements, we can chart a parallel page of agreements,” Mitsotakis said. “Looking towards the many things that unite us, we wish to intensify our bilateral contacts in the coming period.” Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s support for Turkey’s EU accession “despite great difficulties … on the condition it integrates to the European acquis.” Hamas disagreement The two leaders also discussed Israel’s war on Gaza. While they agreed that a long-term ceasefire is needed, they appeared to be deeply divided over the status of the Palestinian group Hamas, which governs Gaza. Erdogan said that he was saddened by the Greek position that deems Hamas a “terrorist” organisation. The Turkish president said at the joint news conference that more than 1,000 members of the Palestinian group were being treated in hospitals across Turkey. Erdogan has repeatedly reiterated that Hamas is a “resistance movement”. “Let’s agree to disagree,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in response. The group as a whole or in some instances its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, is designated as a “terrorist” organisation by Israel, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Egypt and Japan. On October 7, Hamas fighters led an unprecedented attack on Israel killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics, and seizing about 250 others as captives. Dozens of captives were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails during a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas in November, but Israel says dozens of others are still being held in Gaza. Israel responded to the Hamas-led attack by launching a devastating war on Gaza that has levelled much of the territory, displaced more than 80 percent of the population and killed more than 35,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities. Past unpleasantness Ties between Ankara and Athens have long been fraught, with the two countries arriving at the brink of war five times in as many decades. A friendly meeting took place last year when Erdogan visited Greece in an attempt to reset the relationship with positive agreements. But his previous visit to the Greek capital in 2017 was a disaster. He and then-Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos argued over the Lausanne Treaty of 1923, which set the borders between the two countries. Later, Erdogan and then-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras traded accusations about the division of Cyprus. Erdogan blamed the Greek side for two failed rounds of talks to reunify the island in 2004 and 2017. Cyprus has been divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities after inter-communal clashes in 1964 and a Turkish invasion of the island 10 years later, following a Greek-inspired coup. Things got worse after the 2017 visit. The following year, Turkey proclaimed its Blue Homeland policy, claiming sovereign commercial rights to exploit undersea wealth under 462,000sq km (178,400sq miles) of the east Mediterranean, much of which Greece also claimed under international maritime law. In 2019, Turkey agreed to exploit a swath of the east Mediterranean with Libya, further encroaching on what Greece saw as its own maritime jurisdiction. The European Union denounced the memorandum as “illegal” under international law. Shortly after, Greece unofficially warned Turkey that it would sink any Turkish survey ship attempting to search for undersea oil and gas in what it considered its jurisdiction. Turkey called Greece’s bluff the following January, allowing its ship Oruc Reis to conduct surveys for a week southeast of Rhodes. Greece sent a frigate to observe the Oruc Reis without attacking it, but the following summer, the Oruc Reis returned, and the entire Hellenic Navy deployed across the Aegean within hours in a state of heightened alert. Turkey’s navy did the same. The standoff continued until August, when two frigates from opposing navies collided, and the US called for detente. Hydrocarbons weren’t the only source of friction. Erdogan allowed asylum seekers to storm Greek borders in 2020 and disputed Greece’s sovereignty over its east Aegean Islands in 2021. And Turkey has a standing threat of war against Greece, should attempt to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 nautical miles, which Greece says is consistent with international law. The turning point in the escalation was provided by two powerful earthquakes that levelled Turkish cities in February 2023, killing tens of thousands. Greece’s was the first overseas search-and-rescue team to arrive, and the two countries’ foreign ministers made a show of friendship by touring the wreckage together. After elections in both countries in May and June, newly mandated foreign ministers met in Ankara in September, paving the way for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Erdogan to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly two weeks later. Adblock test (Why?)
Dutch faculty join student walkout after police cleared encampment
NewsFeed “We have a centre for genocide studies on this campus… We need our institutions to step up.” Faculty at the University of Amsterdam joined students in a walkout to protest Dutch police forcibly clearing student encampments and echoed their calls for cutting ties with Israeli universities. Published On 13 May 202413 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Top US Senator Bob Menendez’s corruption trial begins
Jury selection begins in trial accusing top Democrat of accepting bribes and acting as unregistered foreign agent. Jury selection has begun in the corruption trial of Bob Menendez, a top United States senator who is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for a range of favours and acting as an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government. Menendez, 70, faces 16 criminal charges and is being tried alongside two New Jersey businessmen in Manhattan federal court. Menendez sat with his lawyers on Monday and listened as Judge Sidney H Stein told several dozen prospective jurors about the charges. The judge told them the “sitting US senator from the state of New Jersey” had been charged in a conspiracy in which he allegedly “agreed to accept bribes and accepted bribes”. Menendez’s wife, Nadine, has also been charged but will be tried separately. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. In September, prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife of accepting cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for the senator wielding his political influence in New Jersey and helping the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Authorities said Menendez promised to help Egypt obtain arms sales and other military aid, and helped co-defendant Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, obtain a lucrative monopoly on the certification of halal meat exports to Egypt. Prosecutors also said Menendez tried to help his other co-defendant, prominent New Jersey developer Fred Daibes, obtain millions of dollars from a Qatari investment fund, and sought to disrupt a federal criminal case against Daibes in New Jersey. Much of the cash received by the couple was stuffed inside clothing at their home, prosecutors said. A few weeks after the initial indictment was unsealed, US authorities in October also charged Menendez – who previously chaired the influential Senate Foreign Affairs Committee – with serving as an unregistered agent of Egypt. Speaking to reporters in late September, Menendez said he was confident he would be exonerated in the case and would continue his political career. “I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator,” he said. He also sought to defend his record on Egypt. “Throughout my 30 years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, I have always worked to hold accountable those countries including Egypt for human rights abuses, the repression of its citizenry, civil society, and more,” he told reporters at the time. Menendez is up for re-election in November and has said he might run as an independent if he is exonerated in the criminal case. But recent polls show he is deeply unpopular among New Jersey voters and many Democratic Party senators, including New Jersey’s Cory Booker, have called for him to resign. Fewer than one in six voters polled in March by Monmouth University and Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill said they approved of Menendez’s job performance. Even fewer said they would vote for him as an independent. This is Menendez’s second criminal trial: In 2017, a New Jersey federal judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on whether he broke the law by providing help to a wealthy ophthalmologist in exchange for lavish gifts and political contributions. Adblock test (Why?)
Can Pakistan’s Imran Khan and army patch up, a year after violent clashes?
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir was blunt. Addressing army officials during his visit to Lahore Garrison on May 9, Munir said, “There can be no compromise or deal with the planners and architects of this dark chapter in our history.” Munir was referring to the events of May 9, 2023, when Pakistan erupted in violence and a subsequent crackdown after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested while appearing before the Islamabad High Court for a hearing into a case of corruption. Thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers responded to Khan’s arrest by storming the streets in various cities, demanding his immediate release and going on a rampage in which state buildings and military installations were targeted. Angry supporters in Lahore targeted the residence of a top military commander, torching the building. Another group of protesters raided the gates of the Pakistani military’s headquarters in Rawalpindi. While Khan was released two days later, he was arrested again in August. The police had by that time arrested thousands of PTI workers and party leaders. An already tense relationship between Pakistan’s military and the PTI ruptured, descending into public hostility. Now, a year later, that broken relationship continues to strain a political system that is also struggling to manage an economic crisis striking at the everyday lives of Pakistan’s 240 million people, analysts say. The military, which felt directly challenged — even attacked — on May 9, 2023, remains Pakistan’s most powerful institution. Meanwhile, the PTI, which emerged as Pakistan’s most popular political force in February national elections, even though its talismanic leader was behind bars and despite a crackdown against it, faces questions over its future. “It is no secret that our relationship with military leadership has frazzled and there is significant mistrust on both sides,” Taimur Jhagra, a senior PTI leader and former minister in the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Al Jazeera. “This will have to be resolved because in no country can the largest political force and strongest institution in the state stand against each other.” PTI has maintained that the riots on May 9, 2023, were part of a ‘false flag’ operation against the party [Rahat Dar/EPA] Pakistan’s military — euphemistically known in the country as the “establishment” — has directly ruled the country for more than three decades since independence and has wielded significant influence under civilian governments too. When Khan became Pakistan’s prime minister in August 2018 after winning elections, his rivals claimed that the military facilitated his triumph. Four years later, Khan accused the military of orchestrating his removal from power through a vote of no confidence. The military has rejected both those accusations and the claims that it plays kingmaker in Pakistani politics. In the 12 months after he had to leave office, Khan took out huge rallies and long marches to Islamabad, survived an assassination attempt, delivered speeches daily, and repeatedly accused the military of joining a United States-backed conspiracy to eject him from office. The US too has consistently denied those allegations. But those tensions between Khan and the military exploded in May last year. Within two weeks of the violent May 9 protests, as security agencies cracked down on alleged perpetrators, more than 100 party leaders announced their decision to leave the party in hastily arranged news conferences that often appeared stage-managed. The party, it seemed, was imploding. A former PTI leader who was once considered close to Khan but ended up leaving the party after May 9 said he would often raise concerns within the party about the rising confrontation with the military months before the events that unfolded last year. “I was saying this in our party meetings repeatedly that we might be heading towards a big disaster, as both sides, us and them, are perhaps underestimating each other and heading towards a confrontation,” he told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity. Several party leaders were jailed on charges of plotting the events of May 9, 2023. While the PTI insists that the events were part of a “false flag operation” to malign the party, some analysts believe that the party miscalculated the military’s response to the rioting that day. “They assumed they had the room to challenge the military since Khan was able to get away with saying things publicly that others had been punished for saying, and swiftly. But they were mistaken in attempting to challenge the military’s monopoly over violence,” political scientist Sameen Mohsin, an assistant professor at the University of Birmingham, told Al Jazeera. Asma Faiz, an associate professor of political science at Lahore University of Management Sciences, said the “very smooth relationship” the PTI once enjoyed with the military might have given the party confidence that it could survive the escalating tensions. “PTI still continues to enjoy support among individuals within the military, judiciary and bureaucracy, so there is broad-based societal support also. That I think led to this miscalculation from them but they had their reasons and logic,” she said. Despite having to contest without their symbol ‘bat’, PTI-backed candidates emerged with the highest number of seats in the February 8 elections this year [Bilawal Arbab/EPA] Jhagra, the PTI leader, said the party was clear that anybody guilty of violating the law should be punished. “But you must remember that May 9 [protests and violence] did not happen in isolation. Starting from the vote of no confidence leading to the ouster of government, and the actual arrest of Khan on May 9, questions must be asked if May 9 would have happened if the events of last year hadn’t,” he said. As the party continued to face arrests and legal challenges, Khan, who had already been charged in more than 100 cases, was arrested on August 5 last year in a corruption case related to state gifts since he was premier. He was barred from contesting elections due to his conviction. In December 2023, the party’s symbol, a cricket bat, was taken away by the country’s election