Headline News 18/06/2016

Headlines:

• Afghan Conflict
• Member of Parliament Killed by British Nationalist
• US State Department Officials Call for Attacking Assad

Details:

Afghan Conflict

Following tensions on the Afghan-Pakistan border, it has been announced on Friday that a delegation led by the Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister will travel to Pakistan. Movement on the Afghan-Pakistan border has been heavily restricted by Pakistan since 1 June. Since Sunday, there has been firing between Afghani and Pakistani border guards at the main Torkham crossing close to Peshawar following construction by Pakistan of a gate on their side of the border. On Thursday, in London, Afghan ex-President Hamid Karzai met with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who he is convalescing after heart surgery in the previous week.

The "Durand Line", defining the Afghan-Pakistan border, was deliniated under British rule of India, enabling the creation of Afghanistan as a buffer state between the two superpowers of that time - Britain and Russia. As a creation of superpower geopolitics, it failed to take into account local realities. Hence, practically, the line has had little significance locally as families and communities that were divided across the line continued to cross, even on a daily basis, for economic and social reasons.

Pakistan has said that it is now instituting border management in order to prevent terrorist activity emanating from Afghan soil. It has also threatened to repatriate Afghan refugees, number 1.5 million documented migrants but possibly another 1.5 million who are undocumented, many of whom have been living in refugee camps at the border since the last 3 decades.

Pakistan's leaders have to realise that the borders between Muslims are the cause of our problems and not a solution to them. Restricting movement across the border is a great hardship for Muslims living on both sides of the border. As the Pakistan leadership well knows, terrorist activity is not because of Afghani Muslims but because of Indian patronage and tacit American approval. Afraid of directly confronting India and America, the cowardly Pakistani leadership has decided to punish ordinary Muslims instead.

Member of Parliament Killed by British Nationalist

Following the death of Jo Cox, member of Parliament for the British opposition Labour Party, British police announced on Friday that they are examining the relationship of the arrested murder suspect, Thomas Mair, with "right wing extremism". Mair, who is said to have a history of mental illness, had subscribed in the past to publications by white supremacist and pro-apartheid groups and was reported to have shouted, "Britain first" or maybe "Put Britain first" before stabbing and shooting Jo Cox. "Britain first" is the name of an anti-Muslim political group founded by former members of the British National Party (BNP).

Jo Cox worked closely with Muslims and championed rights for immigrants to the UK. Immediately after the attack she lay bleeding in the arms of her assistant Fazila Aswat who had been accompanying her. For Muslims living in the West, the media reaction in anti-Muslim attacks is very different from the media reaction when a Muslim is the attacker. Only last week, after the Orlando attack, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump renewed his calls for Muslims to be banned from travelling to the West.

But another significant aspect of this attack is that it is on a pro-Brexit campaigner very close to the Brexit vote. Unfortunately, it is not beyond the British establishment to engineer such an attack to drive its people against the British nationalists that are calling for Britain to leave the European Union. Campaigning for the referendum has been suspended now by both sides and a major sympathy vote for those campaigning to remain in the EU is expected.

US State Department Officials Call for Attacking Assad

In a further sign that America is failing in its plan for Syria, a leaked internal document shows strong support within the US State Department for attacking the Assad regime in Syria.

According to Reuters, "A draft of the cable, signed by 51 State Department officers, calls for 'targeted military strikes' against Assad's government - something Obama has long opposed".

The document is signed by relatively junior officers who would be unaware of the reality that America has actually been supporting the Assad regime. But the document is yet another indication of the failure of America to control the situation in Syria.

Once Muslims take charge of their own affairs it is not possible for even the world superpower to resist this. America's continuing failure in Syria is yet another indication that the Righteous Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) working on the method of Prophethood is close to being re-established.