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Suicide Bomber Attacks Security Convoy In Northwestern Pakistan,
Killing Nine Soldiers
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, August 31, 2023
At least nine Pakistani soldiers have been killed and 20 more injured in a suicide attack that targeted a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan.
The attack on August 31 was carried out by a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations Agency (ISPR) said in a statement.
The statement added that “the army is committed to eliminating terrorism.”
The attack occurred in the Jani Khel area of the Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPK) near the North Waziristan tribal district bordering Afghanistan….
The number of deadly suicide attacks on security forces in and near North Waziristan in 2023 has been increasing. North Waziristan served as a base for insurgents until the army announced years ago that it had cleared the region of local and foreign militants.
Apparently, they were a bit premature with their declaration.
Azerbaijan Pursues ‘Elimination of the Entire Christian
Population and Its Churches’ in Nagorno-Karabakh
by John Hayward, Breitbart, September 6, 2023
Armenian genocide of the early 20th century committed by the dying Ottoman Empire
The congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the plight of Armenian Christians trapped by an Azerbaijani blockade in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region. The commission heard testimony from experts who said Azerbaijan’s actions clearly constituted genocide, with complicity from Turkey and the Islamist forces it has dispatched into the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous territory about the size of Delaware in Azerbaijan that has been inhabited by Armenians for centuries. The Azerbaijanis are mostly Muslims, while the Armenians are Christian.
The Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh fought an unsuccessful war of secession in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, then remained as a semi-autonomous colony supported by the Armenian state.
Sporadic clashes over the years erupted into a full-blown war in 2020, which concluded with a cease-fire brokered by Russia in November of that year. Azerbaijan was generally seen as victor in the conflict, as Armenia was required to hand over control over some border territories.
Fighting broke out again in late 2022 despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers. Both the Armenians and Azeris accused each other of violating cease-fire terms with unprovoked ground attacks and artillery barrages.
In December 2022, Azerbaijan began blockading a road known as the Lachin Corridor, the only land route between the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and the nation of Armenia. The blockade was initially launched by a group of self-professed “environmental activists” to protest illegal mining operations, but testimony at the Human Rights Commission on Wednesday made it clear they were actually agents of Azerbaijan.
Testifying before the commission on Wednesday was Luis Moreno Ocampo, a former prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) who published a report in August about the Lachin Corridor blockade. Ocampo’s report said the blockade was Azerbaijan’s attempt to use “starvation as a means of genocide.”
“There are no crematories and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks,” Ocampo warned in August.
Ocampo explained to the Human Rights Commission that there are essentially two types of genocide: murderous violence with weapons, and deliberate efforts to create conditions that will wipe out an entire population. He said the Lachin blockade was clearly an example of the latter, as it deprives the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians of food, gas, electricity, and medicine. The Azeris have blocked the Red Cross from reaching the Armenians, and even turned back Russian peacekeepers.
“This is an ongoing genocide. It is happening now,” he said. “There is no doubt that genocidal intentions are there.”
Ocampo rendered harsh judgment against Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev, as did the commission’s other expert witness, Georgetown University adjunct professor David L. Philips. Both said Aliev was well aware of the humanitarian crisis created by the Lachin blockade.
“The responsible person is clearly President Aliev. No doubt, no doubt,” Ocampo said.
Philips said Aliev’s goal was “elimination of the entire Christian population and its churches.”
“There is no doubt that genocidal intentions are there,” Ocampo said.
Philips extensively quoted remarks from Aliev and his top officials that indicated their resolve to wipe out the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh once and for all.
“The language used by President Aliev and his officials leaves no question of their genocidal intentions,” he said, noting that Aliev has worked to “dehumanize” the Armenians among his own people and pave the way for their destruction….
I have no doubt that he is getting support and encouragement from Turkey's Erdogan who still sees himself as being the Caliph of what was once the Ottoman Empire. At least, in my humble opinion.
Pakistan: Christian couple arrested after being accused of
desecrating the Qur’an
SEP 13, 2023 4:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER
This story, like so many other accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan, doesn’t ring true. Why would Christians in Pakistan have bag full of Qur’an pages and throw them around? Blasphemy accusations can mean prison or death at the hands of an enraged mob. Are these Christians suicidal, or are they being set up?
Pakistani lawmakers know full well that the blasphemy laws are badly abused by Muslims, but any attempt to repeal those laws has ended up in Islamic Hysteria. At least one lawmaker has been murdered for such an effort.
Christian couple arrested for alleged desecration in Lahore
by Imran Gabol, Dawn, September 10, 2023:
LAHORE: A Christian couple was taken into custody after a blasphemy case was registered against them for allegedly desecrating a copy of the Holy Quran in the jurisdiction of North Cantonment Police Station on Saturday.
Taimur, a resident of Harbanspura, filed a complaint with the police, saying he was standing at a food shop on a street near the Rangers headquarters when he saw some pages being thrown from the roof of a nearby house. He picked up the pages, which were found to be from the Holy Quran.
The complainant claimed that he approached the house and knocked on the door. A woman opened the door and he inquired as to who had thrown the pages.
According to him, the woman responded that her minor daughters and son might have thrown the pages.
However, Taimur insisted on checking the home, at which the woman allowed him to enter the house.
The complainant went to the rooftop of the house where, he claimed, a pink colour bag placed near the water tank contained more pages of the Holy Quran.
He contacted the police, who came to the scene and took away the pages.
The North Cantonment police registered a blasphemy case against the woman and her husband for their alleged involvement in desecrating the holy scripture. The case was filed under Section 295-b of the Pakistan Penal Code.
SP Awais Shafique told the media that both suspects had been arrested and were now awaiting legal proceedings….
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