Pakistan– People urged to remain peaceful in Muharram

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KOHAT: Urging the Shia-Sunni elders to exercise maximum restraint, the commissioner Kohat division Thursday said the government would take all possible steps to maintain peace in the area.

Addressing grand peace jirga of representatives of both the religious sects, he said the maintenance of law and order was the top priority of the administration and the elements disturbing peace would be dealt with an iron hand.

Javed Ibrahim Paracha, Saifullah Khan Afridi, Shah Hussain, Zahid Hussain and members of the divisional peace committee attended the jirga. The commissioner asked the jirga members to finalise timeframe to resolve Hangu issue before Muharram. He said that Shia community would be allowed to take out procession in consultation with representatives of the Sunni community.

Saudis take mountain from Yemen Shias

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Saudi Arabia’s assistant defense minister says his forces have taken control of a mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shia soldiers.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia’s assistant defense minister says his forces have taken control of a mountain straddling the border with Yemen and cleared it of Shia soldiers.

Prince Khaled bin Sultan is quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying his troops are still dealing with Houthi infiltrators in other spots along the frontier but that his forces have not entered northern Yemen.

Bin Sultan said Sunday after visiting the border that the Saudi side of Dokhan Mountain had been cleared of Houthis. Saudi Arabia has for five days bombarded Shias, even as Yemen president has vowed to quash an insurrection pitting his weak central government against innocent Shias in the north.

In another news Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared that the government will step up military attacks on the positions of Houthi Shias.

In a speech on Saturday, Saleh said there will be no reconciliation or truce until the military uproots Shia Houthis from the northern Sadaa province.

“The war just started two days ago, and what has been happening in the past six years was just … training for the army units,” he said.

“The war will never stop no matter how much money or martyrs it costs,” AP quoted Saleh as saying.

The conflict between Houthi Shais and the Yemeni government began in 2004, but intensified last August when government forces stepped up the pressure against the fighters.

Houthi Shias say they have been defending their people against the Yemeni government that has marginalized them economically and politically.

Saudi Wahhabis arrested a Shia citizen in al-Ahsa

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On 4 November 2009 the Saudi General Investigation Directorate (al-Mabaheth al-`Amma) of al-Ahsa arrested the Shia citizen Ali Mohammad al-Thawab , 19 years ,  a student in the university of King Faisal , from Bani Maan town of Al-Ahsa , on the accusation of the Birthday Anniversary of Imam Al-Mahdi (A.S.) last August .

It is worth to mention that the Saudi authorities arrested lately seven young Shi’a citizens from the town Bani Maan on charges of  participation in religious activities on orders of Al-Hasa governor ( Badr bin Muhammad bin Jalawi ), among them Muneer Ali al-Hassawi , Ahmad Mohammad al-Isa , Ali Hussain al-Quraini , Mohammad al-Hattab , Qasim Ali al-Hassawi , Abdul Mohsen Naser al-Sheikh .

Palestinian youths protest Israeli wall marking Berlin wall fall + PIC

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Palestinian youths protested on Friday the Israeli “Separation” wall criticised by internatonal communities, marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

During a weekly protest against the barrier, which cuts through the Ramallah-area village’s center and isolates residents from 60 percent of their farmland, some 300 demonstrators methodically dismantled a concrete section before Israeli forces arrived.

“When one concrete part started to come down partially, the Israeli army arrived and started shooting large amounts of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets and even live ammunition,” Maan news agency quoted Ahmad Mesleh, one of the protest organizers, as saying. “Dozens of soldiers came through the gate and are currently following the demonstration into the village.”

The youths breached a 6-metre (20-foot) high section of the condemned wall.

Israeli border guards fired tear gas and a foul-smelling spray from behind the high concrete barrier, protesters levered open a space under one the pre-cast panels and used a hydraulic car-jack to topple it out of position.

“No matter how tall, all walls fall,” read one banner pasted onto the structure by Palestinian youths helped by Israeli activists, who say the wall on Palestinian land and through Palestinian communities is simply a land grab by Israel.

The panel, cast in the same inverted T-shape as those erected by communist East German through Berlin in 1961, was tilted back close to tipping point onto the Israeli side, but did not fall completely.

The youths scattered when the Israeli guards behind the wall rushed to close the breach.

Thick black smoke from a stack of tyres set alight by the youths mingled with white trails of tear gas against the blue sky. Clouds of Israeli “skunk” spray — smelling of corpses and faeces — drenched the protesters’ side of the skirmish.

Israel began building its barriers and walls in 2000 despite international warns, and it now runs along most of the West Bank border, encroaching the territory of West Bank alongside the other parts of Palestinian land.

Protests at its construction have become a regular Friday event at points such as Nilin, in which Israeli police fire gas and rubber bullets at civilian Palestinians and Israeli activists. In a non-binding decision in 2004, the International Court of Justice said the barrier was illegal and should be taken down because it crossed occupied territory.

Iran Majlis speaker meets Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf

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Iran Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani held talks with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the leader of Iraqi Shias, in Najaf on Saturday in which the two sides exchanged views about the most important regional issues.

the Iranian Majlis speaker presented his views about the most important developments and put an emphasis on seeking the advice of maraja’ taqlid (Shia clerics who are regarded as sources of emulation) for resolving various issues and brokering greater unity among Muslims.

Ayatollah Sistani welcomed the Iranian delegation and expressed his views about issues facing Muslims in the region and beyond.

The ayatollah also wished success for Iranian officials in undertaking their duties.

Ayatollah sistani has been very influential in preventing sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis which has been seriously pursued by individuals inspired by al-Qaeda since the invasion of the country in 2003.

Larijani, who started a four-day tour of Iraq on Wednesday along with a parliamentary delegation, also met with Ayatollah Saeed Hakim in Najaf on Saturday.

Tension intensified and authorities release a Shia citizen

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Saudi authorities released on last Sunday a Saudi Shia citizen after several days detention for hosting Jamaa prayers in his house in Khbar city as several Shia mosques were closed by authorities.

Sources informed Rasid thta Sayed Yusif Sharaf Al-Hashim was released after eight days of detention for hosting Jamaa prayers in his house in Al-Jiser area of Khobar city.

Few days back, the prominent Shia cleric Sayed Mohammad Al-Nasser said that tension has intensified and continuous surveillance of Shia neighborhood is observed which created unhealthy atmosphere that resembles a security situation.

Authorities have detained and released several prominent clerics and public Shia figures for their continuation to perform Jamaa prayers.

For more than year, Saudi authorities are enforcing a stringent ban on Jamaa prayers in private Shia houses as all Shia mosques were closed by authorities.

Estimates indicate that more than 20000 Shia citizens live in Khobar.

Eastern Province Governance (Emara) refuses to comment on the reasons behind closure of Shia mosques or providing permit to build new ones.

Last month, two top secret circulars from Eastern Province Emara stressed that all Shia mosques must be closed in cities of Khobar, Dammam and Khafji.

Both circulars contained sectarian orders to enforce a ban on Shia building mosques or religious houses outside the Shia majority cities of Qatif, Hassa and Najran.

The annual US State Department report on International Religious Freedom condemned Saudi Arabia for its violations against Shia citizens.

The last week’s report ranked Saudi Arabia as one of the top “Religious Freedom” violators.

The report highlighted that Saudi Shia citizens are suffering a significant political, economic, legal, social, and religious discrimination, including limited employment and educational opportunities, underrepresentation in official institutions, and restrictions on the practice of their faith and on the building of places of worship and community centers.

This is the second report that shed light on Saudi violation to human rights and discrimination against Shia citizens.