Headlines:
- Nawaz Sharif’s Wealth Claim
- Occupying Forces Close Al Aqsa Mosque
- US-Iran Nuclear Deal
Nawaz Sharif’s Wealth Claim
Pakistan’s Supreme Court is considering corruption allegations against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, amid mounting pressure over his family’s wealth. This stems from an earlier leak in the Panama Papers, which was linked to his offshore accounts used to buy his London flats. This fuelled even more suspicion that Nawaz Sharif’s companies were used to launder ill-gotten wealth. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), said it found “significant gaps/disparity among the known and declared sources of income and the wealth” accumulated by Mr Sharif and his family. Whilst investigations continue, this case clearly showcases the sheer corruption that exists within the current regime. It is clear that rulers within Pakistan have no limits in manipulating the people’s wealth for their own profit, in a nation which suffers from extreme levels of poverty, famine and rampant inequality.
Occupying Forces Close Al Aqsa Mosque
The Jewish entity’s forces closed Al Aqsa Mosque on Friday after an encounter with three armed Palestinian men who reportedly opened fire on Jewish soldiers. After killing the individuals, the Jewish entity’s government, who regularly enter the mosque compound to harass worshippers announced a temporary closure. Muslims around Palestine were enraged with protests erupting in places like Jordan. Despite the occupying forces reopening the compound, Palestinians refused to enter the mosque due to Palestinians now being required to walk through security gates. They instead prayed outside. It is hugely upsetting to see those regimes, who are ready and willing to attack, defame and boycott other nations such as Qatar keep silent over the injustice in Jerusalem. Since then, 18 Palestinians were attacked on Sunday in al Aqsa with attacks reported in Gaza.
US-Iran Nuclear Deal
The Trump administration has for the second time declared that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal, but threatened more sanctions for breaching the “spirit” of the agreement. The announcement came just hours before the midnight deadline for US President Donald Trump to inform congress whether Iran had met the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal. In a shift from Trump’s campaign promise to “rip up” the “worst deal ever,” officials said that the administration was working with US allies to try to fix the agreement’s flaws, including the expiration of some nuclear restrictions after a decade or more. Officials also said that the United States would slap new sanctions on Tehran, penalising the Islamic Republic for developing ballistic missiles and for contributing to regional tensions. Ironic considering that the US currently has a stockpile of over 200 ballistic missiles and contributes to global tensions not just regional tensions. Its interference in Syria prolonged the war with Iran only playing a bit part role to that. They also emphasised several long-standing US concerns about human rights abuses and Iran’s alleged support for “terrorism” in the region. Once again US hypocrisy knows no bounds they judge nations based on a criterion they themselves fail the well documented CIA torture records and the countless crimes US troops have committed particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan are testament to that.