Article 370 to G20, India is in a Kashmir sweet spot. Now, tick the last boxes



International Desk, Barta24.com
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It is in the nature of the news cycle that the only aspect of the G20 event (Third Working Group on Tourism) in Srinagar that made serious headlines was the absence of China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Oman.

These abstentions are a bummer. But the larger outcome was significantly positive in political and strategic terms. That is easy and safe to deduce from the fact that 17 of the 20 G20 countries attended, including four of the P5, all of Europe and indeed, the largest Muslim nation, Indonesia.

That all of these shed the “disputed region” shibboleth on Jammu & Kashmir is a sizeable turning point in the fraught 75-year history of the region. This is progress, and we must savour it. But we also shouldn’t shy away from wading into some complexities and unfinished projects.

First the abstentions, the issues they underline and the reminders they serve about the unfinished “business” in Jammu & Kashmir. Even if we toss China and Turkey as the usual suspects, the absence of the three important Arab nations was a significant setback. Of course only one of these, Saudi Arabia, is a G20 member. The other two are invitees.

This needs to be noted specially because Saudi Arabia and India have seen a warming up in the past 15 years that’s of epochal significance. The I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE, USA) grouping has come up in its neighbourhood, with its blessings. Oman has had the oldest friendly ties with India.

And silly Egypt? They don’t even have the pretence of being an Islamic state, even in the limited sense of what Erdoğan is turning Turkey into. Quite to the contrary, while Erdoğan has patronised the Muslim Brotherhood, Sisi has risen to dictatorial power by crushing them and their elected government.

India’s outreach to Cairo has been strong and aggressive — President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the Republic Day chief guest this year. What, then, persuaded Egypt to more or less join the bandwagon of the delusional OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) on Kashmir?

The Pakistanis were hard at work here. Their foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had boasted in Goa that there would be “significant abstentions” at the Srinagar event. Three Islamic nations staying out will only be a partial achievement for him because many others, including the UAE, attended.

The abstentions, however, served a purpose for Pakistan, and were a reminder to India. They did not use the words of the Chinese (“we do not go to events in disputed territories”), but conveyed the same message. That weeks before the fourth anniversary of the constitutional changes in Jammu & Kashmir, the issue is far from settled for a section of the world that matters for India. It’s also an instrument in the hands of China to triangulate India through Pakistan.

It was also a reminder that while much progress has been made, India would err by declaring victory too soon.

 

   

76 more killed in Gaza, death toll rises to nearly 32,500



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Even after the UN Security Council passed a cease-fire resolution, the Israeli barbaric attacks on the Palestinian-besieged Gaza have not stopped. Another 76 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in the last 24 hours by Israeli attacks. The death toll has increased to about 32,500 people. The number of injured has reached about 75000 people.

Al-Jazeera reported this information in a live update on Thursday (March 28).

Quoting the Ministry of Health of Gaza, the report said that since last October, the number of dead in Palestine has reached 32490 in the Israeli barbaric attack in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, an emergency ceasefire resolution was passed in the besieged Gaza Strip. The resolution passed by the UN Security Council on Monday (March 25) calls for a cease-fire in Gaza as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages held by Hamas.

In this proposal, 14 countries of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposal. Israel's close ally, the United States, abstained from voting.

Welcoming the proposal, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, after a long wait, the Security Council has passed a resolution regarding the cease-fire in Gaza. This proposal must be implemented. Failure of any party to implement the ceasefire and its terms would constitute an unforgivable offence. 

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Israel wants to wipe out Palestinians: UN



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Gazans are going through one of the worst times in living memory. The lives of Palestinians are in danger due to the long-term killings and severe food shortages. The world is criticizing the surprise attack on the destitute Gazans. However, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to stop the attack. In this situation, the international organization, which could not find any solution after repeated efforts, said that Israel is going to wipe out the Palestinians.

On Monday (March 25), the special envoy for human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanez, released her detailed report. She said that since the start of the attack, Israel has targeted Gazans. The Israeli forces assumed that these Gazans could be attacked, killed, or even destroyed. Israel's genocidal action has become clear through this. They are trying to erase Palestinians from Palestine.

The news agency AFP reported this information.

According to the report, Albanez attacked Israel in harsh language at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. She said Israel destroyed Gaza. She also said, 'What is happening in Gaza shows the intention of genocide. We cannot turn away from it. We have to face it, we have to stop this genocide and action must be taken against those who took this step.''

Francesca Albanez is working as Special Envoy for Palestinian Human Rights. She told the United Nations Human Rights Council last Monday that the organization's member states should end arms embargoes against Israel and arms supplies to Israel.

Support for the UN expert panel, which has been working on allegations of genocide against Israel since the start of Israel's assault on Gaza, has been growing in Palestine. Various countries are now showing interest in investigating the allegations of genocide.

Ambassadors of different countries are supporting this report of Albanez. Ambassadors from Muslim and Arab countries, as well as Latin American countries, are among those supporting Albanez's report to hold Israel accountable.

Pakistan has supported this Albanez report on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has also called for an arms embargo on Israel. When Albanez presented the report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan's representative said, "We appreciate your courage in documenting the genocide in Gaza."

Accusations of genocide against Israel are intensifying as it continues to operate in Gaza's Rafah area in defiance of international calls. The Ministry of Health of Palestine said on Wednesday that 76 people were killed in the attack in the last 24 hours. With this, 32490 people have been killed in Israel's attacks since October 7.

The representative of Egypt, on behalf of the Arab countries, said they were deeply concerned about Israel's structural and systematic attack on the Gaza Strip, making it uninhabitable. Qatar represented the Gulf countries in the meeting. They want international action to stop the war that Israel is waging in Palestine. 

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Romania sent back 5 Bangladeshis with ban



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Immigration police in the Arad region bordering Romania forcibly returned 20 migrants to their respective countries on charges of attempting to cross the border illegally. Five Bangladeshis are among the migrants.

Romania's General Inspectorate for Immigration (IGI) announced this information in a press release on Monday (March 25).

According to the notification, on March 23, the Immigration police of Arad region of Romania forcibly sent back to their respective countries a total of 20 immigrants, including 18 people from South Asian countries and 2 people from Egypt. The concerned migrants were taken from the migrant detention center in Arad region to the airport in the presence of law enforcement agencies.

Apart from five Bangladeshis, the migrants include nine Sri Lankans, three Pakistanis, two Egyptians and one Indian national. A legal notice to leave Romania was issued against them earlier. But as they did not return on their own initiative, forced expulsion was implemented with an escort according to the law.

Upon leaving Romania, they are banned from entering all EU member states, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation for five years.

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18 killed in Gaza after relief sack fell on head



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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18 people were killed while collecting airdropped aid in the besieged Gaza Strip. The casualties occurred during an airdrop of relief near the Mediterranean coast in northern Gaza. At that time, 12 people were killed when relief sacks fell on their heads and 6 others died after being trampled in haste while collecting relief. AFP reports.

Hamas, the armed political group that controls the valley, said in a statement that the tragedy occurred on Tuesday (March 25).

In the statement, Hamas said, "A request to the international community, please stop dropping the relief bags from the planes." Instead, take steps to remove the obstacles in sending relief by road.'

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the last six months of Israeli forces' operations, and about 74,000 others have been injured.

On the other hand, 1,200 Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack by Hamas fighters on October 7. Also, 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas fighters, 108 of them have been released so far.

A third of the people of the Gaza Strip are directly dependent on aid from the United Nations and other donor countries and groups. Since the beginning of the operation in the valley, the Israeli forces have been blocking the delivery of relief supplies, resulting in a death march in Gaza since last February due to lack of food.

In this situation, the United States and its allies in the Western world announced air relief supplies to the Gaza Strip from that month.

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