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Pakistan will treat banned Islamist party as militant group,
govt says as 4 police officers killed, hundreds injured in clashes
27 Oct, 2021 17:26
on October 23, 2021. © Reuters / Mohsin Raza
At least four police officers have been killed and hundreds more injured in massive clashes that erupted in Pakistan's north-eastern Punjab province, as law enforcement sought to stop an Islamist protest march on Islamabad.
Punjab's Chief Minister Usman Buzdar confirmed casualties on Twitter on Wednesday, saying at least four officers had been killed and over 250 people injured. There, law enforcement faced fierce resistance from the members and supporters of the banned Islamist Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party as the police sought to disperse their march on the capital.
The TLP orchestrated the protests, demanding the release of one of its leaders, Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, who has been in custody since April. On Wednesday, it also accused the government of "lying" about an agreement supposedly reached with the party to end the demonstrations.
Other demands included "respect for the Holy Prophet" Mohammed and the expulsion of France's ambassador to Pakistan over the publication of "blasphemous" cartoons of the prophet by French satirical outlet, Charlie Hebdo.
TLP members and their supporters used submachine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and pistols against the police, a Punjab police spokesman told Reuters.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed confirmed at a press conference that at least three officers were killed and 70 injured in the clashes, adding that eight are now in critical condition. He also said that he was sending the Rangers – a federal paramilitary force – to Punjab, adding that the local government may use the unit "wherever it wants."
Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the government would from now on treat the party, banned in April, as a militant group and not a political force. "There is a limit to the state's patience," he said, adding that, although everyone has a right to express their ideas, no one can take up arms if these ideas are not heard.
"No one should make the mistake of thinking that the state is weak. Those who made this mistake later realized they were wrong," Chaudry said, adding that Islamabad "will not tolerate those who challenge the writ of the state."
The information minister also said that the government does not want "blood to be spilled," and blamed the violence on the TLP.
Party members, meanwhile, told Reuters that some of their activists had also been killed and injured by the police. The group also accused Rashid Ahmed of "lying" about settling all the matters with the party, adding that no government officials had contacted them.
On Tuesday, Rashid said the government was willing to consider all the party's demands, bar the French diplomat's expulsion.
Authorities blocked roads leading to Islamabad on Tuesday night in a bid to prevent the marchers from entering the city. According to some Pakistani media, additional police could be deployed to the city and roads might be barricaded with containers and barbed wire.
Founded in 2015, the TLP is known for its hardline stance on Islam. It fiercely opposed any changes to Pakistan's blasphemy law and demanded the nation adopt Sharia as its fundamental law. In 2018, it did not get into the Pakistani parliament but still received the support of more than two million people.
The TLP found itself on a collision course with the government in April 2021 when it organized protests to pressure Islamabad into expelling the French envoy. At that time, one of the party's leaders – Rizvi – was arrested by the Punjab government to maintain "public order." Several people, including police officers, were killed during the April unrest, though tensions eased after the government reportedly agreed to take the issue of the ambassador's expulsion to the national assembly.
Though banned in April, the TLP was still allowed to contest elections. The government has engaged in talks with the party, which continues to demand the release of its leader and of another 1,400 activists. It also demanded the party ban be lifted and that the French envoy deported.
Of course, French media would not indicate that this was a Muslim-led riot, but no other demographic would start a riot because a drug dealer got arrested.
15 vehicles torched in night of violence in Alencon, France
after teen's arrest for allegedly dealing drugs
27 Oct, 2021 15:56
Over a dozen vehicles were left burnt out on Tuesday night in France's Alençon and police and firefighters came under fire from incendiaries and other projectiles, after a 16-year-old was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs.
A group of some 20 young people took to the streets in the town of Alençon in Normandy, torching cars and attacking emergency-services personnel with an array of projectiles and fireworks.
"We deplore this night of urban violence in Perseigne, in Alençon, in which there were a dozen vehicles set on fire," Françoise Tahéri, prefect of the Orne district, told BFMTV. Tahéri added that the police intervened quickly to stabilize the situation and were reinforced by gendarmes.
Firefighters and police officers intervened around midnight, after being notified that several private vehicles had been set on fire. Upon arriving at the scene, they came under fire from around 20 youths positioned in different places around the neighborhood, according to BFMTV. Thirteen gendarmes were sent in as reinforcements, and the clashes concluded around 3:30am.
Tahéri said she was delighted that nobody was injured and praised the intervention of law enforcement. Town major Joaquim Pueyo described the events as "extremely serious." In footage shared online, passing cars can be seen coming under attack from mortars.
Images posted on social media on Wednesday morning show the extent of the devastation, with numerous burnt-out cars being transported for scrapping.
The unrest was apparently prompted by the arrest of a 16-year-old boy who was allegedly caught selling drugs to a woman in the area. During a press conference on Wednesday, Tahéri stated the authorities believed the violence was related to Tuesday's arrest of a suspected drug dealer.
Iran’s president claims cyberattackers crippled every gas station
in the country to create ‘disorder’ but fails to assign blame27 Oct, 2021 14:25
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said a cyberattack targeted every gas station in the country in an attempt to spark anger and create “disorder and disruption,” but he failed to say who the government believes was behind it.
The comments, which were broadcast on Iranian state television, saw the country’s president announce that a cyberattack had crippled every gas station in the republic, making the government-issued cards used by citizens to buy fuel useless.
“There should be serious readiness in the field of cyberwar, and related bodies should not allow the enemy to follow their ominous aims to make problem in the trend of people's life,” Raisi stated, adding that the attack had been aimed at making “people angry by creating disorder and disruption.”
Despite announcing the vast cyberattack on the Islamic Republic, Raisi did not blame a country or group for the incident, though he did indicate that anti-Iranian forces were trying to inflame tensions. A group of hackers did claim responsibility for the attack on the gas stations late on Tuesday, but they have yet to provide any evidence that they were behind it.
Digital systems used for purchasing fuel showed a message reading “cyberattack 64411,” according to reports, bearing similarities to another incident which hit the country’s rail system back in July. The July attack was blamed by Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point on a group of hackers known as Indra.
Iran has been subjected to multiple cyberattacks in recent times, with an August incident exposing a video that reportedly showed abusive behavior at the country’s Evin prison. Another attack, which saw the Stuxnet computer virus infect devices, forced the government to disconnect infrastructure from the internet while it sought to contain the spread of that cyberattack.
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