Arabs have failed the Palestinians

Smoke and flames rise from a tower building as it is destroyed by Israeli air strikes amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence, in Gaza City May 12, 2021 Reuters

SALEEM SAMAD

The 11-day fierce fire-fight between the militants of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad with Israel caused at least 243 people, including more than 100 women and children, to be killed in Gaza.

The Israeli military says more than 4,300 homemade Qassam rockets --   a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the military arm of Hamas -- were fired towards its territory by Palestinian militants.

Since the rockets were pressed into conflict with Israel in 2001, the improvised rocketry technology is not capable of being fired to target military sites, and is "indiscriminate when used against targets in population centres."

Nevertheless, the improvised rockets rained down deep into central Israel and crashed into former capital Tel Aviv. Israel’s state-of-the-art air defense system “Iron Dome” however managed to intercept 90% of the rockets from Gaza.

On the 12th day, Egypt brokered a ceasefire which was also backed by US President Joe Biden. The fragile ceasefire apparently seems to have halted the skirmish for a while. No surprise that both sides have claimed victory.

In a virtual conference held several days after the airstrikes caused havoc in Gaza, the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) was outraged, when hundreds of women and children were victims of collateral damage over the conflict in Gaza.

Only Saudi Arabia condemned Israel for “flagrant violations” in Gaza, calling on the global community to act urgently to put an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Surprisingly, most Arab countries except Kuwait, Iran, and Turkey did not rebuke Israel harshly for the recent conflict that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and coupled with the eviction of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

The Muslim countries are divided in a thick and thin line of a partisan realignment of a global superpower. Despite being the “guardians of Islam” and “protector of Muslims,” Arab monarchies have demonstrated that they care only to counter Iran.

Joe Biden, however, reiterated that the Israel and Palestine crisis lies in a two-state solution, nothing more and nothing less to create a sovereign Palestine State.

The radicalized Islamist party Hamas had landslide wins in 2005 and 2006 elections in Gaza, which resulted in a crucial split of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), established as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords.

The Palestine Authority, dominated by the Fatah party, was founded by Yasser Arafat and is governed from Ramallah in the West Bank. The PNA is recognized internationally as the sole representative of the State of Palestine but does not recognize the Hamas authority which rules Gaza.

The trouble began when Fatah lost the elections to Hamas in Gaza. Subsequent Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, and the joint Egyptian-Israeli blockade of Gaza, have exacerbated the conflict.

As part of its 2005 disengagement plan, Egypt retained control of the border, and border crossings were supervised by European monitors, while Israel retained exclusive control over Gaza's airspace and territorial waters, and continued to patrol and monitor the external land perimeter of Gaza.

According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel remains an occupying power under international law. The United Nations has stated that under resolutions of both the General Assembly and the Security Council, it regards Gaza to be part of the "Occupied Palestinian Territories."

The international community is outraged at indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian structures that do not differentiate between civilians and military targets -- and that is tantamount to a crime against humanity under international law.

First published in Dhaka Tribune, 27 May 2021

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Email saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter @saleemsamad

Thaw in Bangladesh, Pakistan, relations?

SALEEM SAMAD

The Pakistani press deliberately avoided the exchange between the Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddique and the Bangladesh PM.

There was lots of enthusiasm in the national press in Pakistan and among the Hawks in Islamabad, regarding the ‘quiet diplomacy’ of a rare meeting of Pakistan’s envoy with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Hawks in Islamabad failed to realise why Hasina cleverly gave an appointment in December at her official residence Gonobhaban.

Bangladesh observes 16 December as ‘Victory Day’ when 93,000 marauding Pakistan armed forces and civilians surrendered at Dhaka in 1971, and Bangladesh was liberated.

The Pakistani press deliberately avoided the exchange between the Pakistan High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Ahmed Siddique and the Bangladesh PM.

Hasina during the parley maintaining social distancing in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, did not hesitate to state that “The incidents of 1971 can’t be forgotten. The pain will remain there forever,” says official news agency BSS.

She also referred to the volumes of a book titled “Secret Documents of Intelligence Branch on Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman”, the prime minister said people can learn historical incidents that occurred during 1948-1971. The documents describe how Pakistan junta interpreted his political activities and intermittently put him behind bars years after years.

She said both the English and Urdu version of the book “Unfinished Memoirs” by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is one of the bestsellers in Pakistan. “It’s also well-read in Pakistan apart from other countries.”

When the diplomat raised that different bilateral and regional forums have remained inactive for some time and sought Dhaka’s initiative to reactivate the Foreign Office consultations (FCO) between the two countries, Hasina responded that as she believes in regional cooperation and there is no problem in the functioning of the forums.

Hasina, daughter of the architect of Bangladesh independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman reiterated Bangladesh’s foreign policy “friendship to all malice towards none”, and said she believes in continuing relationships with other countries too.

Well, the daily newspapers Dawn, Express Tribune, and other online newspapers published spoon-fed news tailored by the Press Information Department in Islamabad –what the citizens of Pakistan would love to hear.

Both Urdu and English press welcomed Hasina’s meeting with the Pakistan diplomat. Whereas she refused to meet the outgoing Indian envoy during the coronavirus lockdown.

The parley was interpreted as yet another sign suggesting warming up of nearly a decade old tensions between the two countries since Bangladesh bifurcated from Pakistan after a bloody war of independence in 1971.

Kamran Yousaf writes in the Express Tribune that the meeting of the Pakistani envoy with the Bangladeshi PM was the result of a ‘quiet diplomacy’.

The ice melted first in July when the Pakistani High Commissioner held a meeting with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister during the coronavirus outbreak at its peak. The meeting that raised eyebrows in India, the wise-man writes.

A similar circus occurred when Imran Khan and his Bangladeshi counterpart spoke by phone.

What the press in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad censored was that Hasina, confidently told the Naya Pakistan leader Khan, that his country must express apology for war crimes committed by the Pakistan military during the brutal birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

The diplomatic relationship between the two countries was experiencing hiccups after Pakistan repeatedly condemned the verdicts of the International Crimes Tribunal against the war criminals who are Bangladesh born and possess the nationality of Bangladesh.

Hasina was furious after recurring outlandish statements by Islamabad on war crimes trials were issued. In 2016, Pakistan’s parliament passed a unanimous resolution condemning the “politically motivated” trials.

Bangladesh protested to Pakistan’s condemnation, and diplomatic relations began to deteriorate. The ties sank in a quagmire.

She decided to call back the Bangladesh High Commissioner from Islamabad and lower the diplomatic status of the mission.

Her anger could be understood when she wanted to close down the Bangladesh mission in Islamabad and severe diplomatic relations with Pakistan.

Hastily at the request of India, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, Hasina changed her mind and instead kept the status low by withdrawing High Commissioner, Deputy High Commissioner, and other senior diplomatic officials.

The final blow comes when an official announcement that no tourist visa would be issued except for official visits and business visas. Pakistan also reciprocated the visa regime no visa is issued from Dhaka. Thus the only air connectivity by PIA had to cancel the flights for lack of passengers.

Despite Pakistan’s academia in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, intellectuals, rights groups, and mainstream Urdu and English language media often write about Pakistan debacles in Bangladesh war theatre, war crimes trial, and advocates for a thaw in the estranged relationship between two countries. Still, some reactionary elements, mostly Islamist groups, remained negative about the Bangladesh war crimes trial.

The Pakistan media admits that the strained relationship occurred after Bangladesh went ahead with the trial of the war criminals in 2009.

However, the politicians and Islamist parties argue that Sheikh Hasina is settling scores against her opponents and Islamic evangelist and key leaders of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

The politicians do not say that political leaders of the ruling Awami League, Jatiya Party, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were also indicted and given maximum punishment.

Not surprised that the nationalist movements in Balochistan and Sind eagerly urge Bangladesh to raise the crime against humanity in their provinces at the international forum. Especially the enforced disappearances, torture, and atrocities against the Baloch and Sindhi nationals.

Recently the human rights abuses against Pashtun nationalists and human rights activists have sharply risen.

Well, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a dangerous country for religious minorities, especially the Ahmadiyya, Christian, Sikh, and worst are the Hindus. The Hindu teenage and minor girls are victims of abduction, forced conversion, and married to elderly polygamist husbands, happening mostly in Sindh.

Finally, Kamran Yousaf writes that the statement issued by the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s Office said the incidents of 1971 cannot be forgotten and forgiven. This shows that the Bangladesh government is still adamant that Pakistan must formally apologise over the events of 1971.

To bury the past and thaw the relationship among two South Asian countries, Islamabad must seek a public apology for committing war crimes and thus open a new chapter with Bangladesh.

First published in news portal Shuddhashar, published from Norway on 18 December 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at <saleemsamad@hotmail.com>; Twitter @saleemsamad

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan face-off over Kashmir

A world map minted in Saudi Arabia's banknote shows Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan not in Pakistan - Photo: Public Domain

SALEEM SAMAD

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has now fallen out of grace from Saudi Arabia. The diplomatic relations have gone cold after Islamabad attempted to ally with Turkey.

In recent times, the relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Turkey have dived further after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

The Kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (popularly known as MBS), squeezed Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to repay a $1 billion loan.

To further humiliate Pakistan, the Kingdom announced that the $1 billion, repaid by Pakistan, would be invested in Reliance Jio Fibre in India.

Embarrassed, Pakistan saved its face by repaying the debt with the help of China, and Khan’s electoral vision for “Naya Pakistan” is in shambles. 

After Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir on August 5, 2019, which revoked its special status, Islamabad did not hesitate to criticize Riyadh over the contentious issue.

The worst is yet to come.

On October 24, Saudi Arabia released a 20 Riyal banknote to commemorate its presidency of organizing a G-20 summit on November 21-22. The world map displayed at the rear of this commemorative banknote deliberately scraped Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir from the map of Pakistan.

Riyadh was angered over Islamabad’s official publication of a new political map in August 2020, which has shown Kashmir annexed with Pakistan, leading Delhi to term it as “political absurdity.”

Riyadh believes Pakistan has no legitimacy over Gilgit-Baltistan and Jammu & Kashmir. The depiction of the map of Pakistan devoid of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan has adequately disgraced Pakistan in the international arena, particularly in the Muslim world. 

Well, the disputed Jammu & Kashmir have been taken out from the map of India too. The map depicts Kashmir Valley as an independent nation.

South Block in New Delhi immediately protested for the exclusion of Kashmir from India and demanded an explanation. Riyadh is yet to issue a statement. 

China, an all-weather friend of Pakistan, had been irked in the process and along with Pakistan has thrice dragged the Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council in the past year.

Pakistan miserably failed to draw the attention of the 57 members of Muslim nations -- the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) -- for a call for condemnation on scraping Kashmir autonomy.

During the China and India face-off over Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, Pakistan became desperate to form a new bloc with Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, China, and Russia, outside the traditional dictates of the United States. Malaysia silently backed out.

The Kingdom has given a clear signal to Islamabad that the KSA-India economic ties strengthened with a rejection of any financial aid to Pakistan is a new marker in international relations.

Observers understand that Saudi Arabia’s attitude towards Pakistan may also be “read” as “no confidence” against China.

Further pouring salt in the wounds, the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran refused to allow Pakistan diplomatic missions to hold public events to observe the October 27 anniversary of Jammu & Kashmir’s accession to India as a 'Black Day'.

Plans to hold a public event inside Pakistan’s consulate in Riyadh were also blocked by the Kingdom.

Similarly, the Pakistan embassy in Tehran’s proposal to hold an event at Tehran University to observe Black Day was refused.

The change in stance adopted by two influential Islamic countries is a reflection of Pakistan’s equations in the Middle East as a fallout of its growing partnership with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seen to aspire for a leadership role in the Islamic world.

Analysts believe Imran Khan had bitten off more than he could chew. It’s a clear sign of Khan’s growing desperation for his failure to garner support over India’s abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir.

First published in the Dhaka Tribune on 3 November 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, and recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com. Twitter @saleemsamad

Bangabandhu ... statesman among statesmen

SALEEM SAMAD

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, days after he returned home following more than nine months of languishing in a prison in Pakistan --- "a journey from darkness to light"--- in early January 1972 was catapulted to being a statesman of the third world.

After Bangabandhu, the independence hero of Bangladesh took charge of the war-ravaged country of 75 million, he soon became an icon of independence, freedom, democracy, socialism and secularism of the south-south nations.

The brutal birth of Bangladesh, after a bloody war with the marauding Pakistan military along with its Islamist militia and dreaded henchmen, as a new sovereign state in South Asian politics with its very strategic geographic location and in the midst of very complicated international politics was a significant event in modern history.

Bangladesh was born at the time 'when a global transformation of power was going on with the formation of the Indo-Soviet axis vis-a-vis Sino-American rapprochement which not only had a bearing on the emergence of Bangladesh but also had an impact on the foreign policy of the country that was emerging'.

The emergence of Bangladesh as an independent state in 1971 in South Asia appears to be a unique phenomenon in international affairs.

Immediately after Sheikh Mujib's homecoming, Bangladesh achieved recognition from all major countries, except Saudi Arabia and China. He was able to establish Bangladesh in the comity of nations.

He declared, "I would like it [Bangladesh] to become the Switzerland of the East." The word Switzerland had two meanings – peaceful coexistence and national development.

The enigmatic world leader in his casual dress in long flowing punjabi, pyjama and black vest dubbed as 'Mujib Coat', declared that Bangladesh would steer clear of the Cold War and would remain non-partisan in the tug of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union.

The charismatic leader became personal friends with a wide range of global personalities --- from Indira Gandhi of India to Fidel Castro of Cuba, from Houari Boumediene of Algeria to Marshal Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia to Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Alexei Kosygin of the Soviet Union to Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of the Emirates, from Sir Edward Heath of the United Kingdom to Kakuei Tanaka of Japan, and from Senator Edward Kennedy to Prince Karim Aga Khan.

His contacts with the equally charismatic US leader Senator Edward Kennedy allowed Sheikh Mujib to express his thanks to the American people for their unflinching support for Bangladesh's independence, which eventually laid the foundations of Bangladesh's relations with the United States.

With the help of Bangabandhu's international friends and admirers, Bangladesh joined the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Commonwealth of Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

The iconic Cuban leader Fidel Castro compared Mujib's personality with the Himalayas. "I have not seen the Himalayas, but I have seen Sheikh Mujib. In personality and in courage, this man is the Himalayas. I have thus had the experience of witnessing the Himalayas," the Cuban supreme leader remarked during the Non-Aligned Summit in 1973.

For Sheikh Mujib, the Chinese veto to appease Pakistan in blocking Bangladesh's membership to the United Nations was a passing cloud, a test of time.

By dint of Bangabandhu's statesmanship, Bangladesh was steered into the United Nations and at the same time, Sheikh Mujib pursued the goal of coming out of superpower rivalry, and two years after liberation in 1971, Bangladesh joined the Non-Aligned Movement. At the NAM summit in 1973, Bangabandhu was able to draw the attention of world leaders to his diplomacy of friendship for all and malice to none.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on 25 September 1974, Sheikh Mujib categorically said, "Bangladesh has consistently pursued an independent non-aligned foreign policy promoting friendship with all countries of the world based on mutual respect for sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of other' states".

His statesmanship earned him global accolades. The World Peace Council honoured him with the Julio-Curie Peace Prize for his extraordinary contribution to the oppressed people of the world on 23 May 1973, and from "Bangabandhu", friend of Bengal, he became a universal friend.

No other global leaders could become such popular "friends of the world", as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman could. His career as a national politician and as a global statesman will surely be remembered in the years to come.

First published in The Business Standard, 17 March 2020

The writer is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad, Email saleemsamad@hotmail.com

Who Is Beneficiary From US, Syria, Iraq, Iran Crisis?

SALEEM SAMAD

When the United States coalition forces toppled the despot Al-Qaeda backed Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001 in Iran's immediate east and US invasion of Iraq in 2003 in Iran's immediate west seemed to be a considered military threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

During 1991 Operation Desert Storm, the massive US military build-up in the Gulf was considered a threat to the Islamic Iran's regime. The US military headquarters in Pentagon heightened the tension when they reiterated that Iran as an "axis of evil" and said that Iran, not Iraq is the main enemy in the region and we desperately wanted Iraq to act as a counterweight to Iran.

The Iran-Iraq war ended in a stalemate with direct interference by the US.

According to a report by International Crisis Group, following are the priorities of the Ayatollahs in Iraq:

-    A strong centralised Iraqi government which is favourable to Iran, able enough to counter jihadist threats and secure its borders.

-    Preservation of territorial integrity of Iraq so that the country remains stable thereby leaving Iran unaffected by any security threats and vulnerable borders.

-    Prevent the opposition groups in Iraq and former Saddam loyalists to gain grounds in Iraq and thereby act against Iran's interests.

Iran relied on three important junctures to spread its influence in Iraq, the first such influence, as stated above came with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The second juncture came in 2011 after the withdrawal of US troops when the first Shia Prime Minister Nouri-al-Maliki was backed by both the United States and Iran which acted against the interest of Sunni leaders leading to deprivation of their political power and economic marginalisation giving way to resurging extremism which strengthened Iranian interests in the country.

The third juncture was the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - ISIS (or Daesh) in Iraq which led Tehran to organise and empower the existing and even new Shia militias in the garb of aiding Tehran in its fight against ISIS.

By 2011, after the withdrawal of US forces and Nouri-al-Maliki's coronation as Prime Minister of Iraq, Iran had a significant influence over Iraqi politics and conflicts and its militias had key control over various funds and weapons and those acting again Iran's interests were annihilated.

The rise of ISIS in 2014 and its dramatic success posed a significant challenge to Iran's presence and the violent capture of Mosul and other Iraqi cities posed serious questions on the capabilities of Quds Force commanded by Qasem Soleimani and Iran's success in stabilising Iraq.

The possible prediction which can be made is the challenges before Iran amid security crisis, instabilities and weak governance, corruption and sectarian conflicts are to prevent the emergence of new jihadist threats or any other threat from its conventional allies, whether it is Israel, Saudi Arabia or the United States.

It would be difficult for Iraq to shrug off the domination of Shia politics in the governance of Iraq and to ensure proper funds and artillery for its Popular Mobilization Forces (PMUs) founded by Nouri al-Maliki, a coalition of Shia Muslims in Iraq, backed by the Quds Force.

The oldest bonhomie in the Middle-East is the proven relationship between Iran and Syria. Ever since the Islamic Revolution, the two countries established ties on the basis of Shia fraternity.

Despite Alawites sect of Islam are secular and liberal Muslims, which contradict's with Iran version of Shi'ism. Alawites celebrate some Christian and Zoroastrian religious holidays, but Iran's Ayatollah has accepted the Alawite Muslims as Shia.

The Iran-Syria relationship is considered as one of the most sustainable military alliance in the region when both deemed Israel and US presence are considered as an existential threat in the Middle-East.

Iran backed powerful Hezbollah militia stationed in South Lebanon is Iran's largest proxy group to render trouble to Israel was redeployed to aid the Assad regime by training the pro-Assad militias groups.

Iran fears if Sunni majority political alliance comes into power in the post-Assad regime, there is likely to express solidarity with US-Saudi nexus which will prove hostile against Iran's interest in the region.

At present, the greatest challenge before the clergies in Iranian is to continue with its Syria chapter despite carrying the heavy burden of international sanctions and preserve its axis of resistance.

First published in the New Nation, 27 January 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad, Email: saleemsamad@hotmail.com

Iran, a nation plunged into crisis of competency, legitimacy

Rogue warlord General Qassem Soelimani commander of Quds Force killed in a US drone attack

SALEEM SAMAD

Iran, a nation plunged into crisis of competency, legitimacyQasem Soleimani

The aura of solidarity after General Qasem Soleimani's assassination temporarily created across

Iran soon gave way to hostility after a Ukraine Airlines was shot down by an Iranian missile.

The clerics of the Islamic Republic of Iran have finally plunged into a series of crisis faced internally and externally.

Never before the tens of thousands of Iranians in self-exile have stepped outside their abode to protest Islamic Iran's erroneous political policies and appalling human rights status meted by street protesters demanding democracy.

Iran's role in the geopolitics of the Middle-East since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the religious fundamentalism plays as a catalyst in the formulation of Iran's foreign policy.

Iran's proxy war strategy which is practiced through hybrid Shia militias in the region. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, plays an important role in Iranian politics and security decisions.

The Quds Force engaged in hybrid war has been authorised by the Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to punish the most hated countries in Middle-East.

The assassinated Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani by US drone attack has shown success in waging proxy wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to punish American allies Israel, Saudi Arabia and Emirates.

In the early 1980s only, when Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, who spearheaded the Islamic Revolution had been facing a war with Iraq, it started its policy of recruitment and mobilisation of Shia Muslims to raise rag-tag militias in all over the Middle-East to counter its arch-foes, Saddam Hussein's Baathist Iraq.

Iran backed Hezbollah involved proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan have always remained involved, either directly or indirectly, in every conflict of Middle-East.

These proxy groups became immensely active after Baghdad fell to the United States in 2003. This hybrid warfare strategy immensely benefited Iran, by avoiding direct military confrontations and therefore hiding Iran's conventional military weaknesses and reshaping the politics of Iraq in its favour.

One of the very important factors regarding how Iran has been able to maintain his influence in the geopolitics of the Middle-East is due to its properly systematised network of proxies and its state actor IRGC and Quds Force.

Iran has always used these hybrid militias for strategic purposes, strengthening of its national security and its revolutionary agenda.

The conventional threat to Iran is mainly posed by the United States and its allies in the Middle East, but mainly Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Another threat that Iran faces is by Jihadist groups like Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliates in the Arab countries and Afghanistan.

If we talk about Syria, Iran's influence in the balance of power and politics of the Middle-East has accelerated to a new level after the eruption of civil wars in Syria and Yemen.

Syria has been a steady ally of Iran since the inception of the Islamic Republic in 1979 and has always supported the father and son duo of Hafez-al-Assad and Bashar-al-Assad respectively due to their allegiance to Alawite sect of Shia Islam.

Iran's support to the Houthis started in 1990 with an objective to protect the Zaidism sect of Shia Islam in Yemen.

Evidence of Iran's support and military assistance to Houthi rebels came to surface in 2012 when the United States found the Quds Force providing training to the Houthis in Saddah, a small town in Yemen.

Through these proxies, Iran has successfully encountered Saudi Arabia, American and Israeli influence in the region. The influence became unpredictable in the region and the USA had to redo its policy for the Arab states.

First published in The Asian Age, 25 January 2020

Saleem Samad is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad: Email: saleemsamad@hotmail.com

Proxy Warlord Who Undermines US Capabilities

SALEEM SAMAD

Qassim Soleimani, a shadowy Iranian general and head of rogue Quds Forces who has been blamed for exporting proxy war in the Middle East region had undermined the capability of the United States. Iran's clerics tasked the Quds Force with spreading Iran's influence abroad. In the past two decades, Suleimani had extraordinary success in implementing Tehran's objective in exporting proxy war in the region.

General Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force killed in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport on early on 3rd January, was the most influential military figures in Iran. Revered by Iranian as an iconic military commander and a blue-eyed boy of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was born in a peasant family in a small city in eastern Iran to become one of the most prominent military figures.

In the chaos and death that followed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and the 2011 Syrian revolution, Suleimani took the opportunity, pouring in men and money to build a crescent of pro-Iran forces stretching across the Middle-East. The iconic hero was the mastermind of proxy wars which extended from Gaza to Lebanon, from Iraq to Yemen. Literally, the proxy wars eclipsed Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States and Israel in the west and south. All the hated countries were staunch supporters of United States hegemony in the Middle East.

He successfully raised and trained tens of thousands of pro-Iran forces to destabilise the countries in regular battles for years to demoralise the regimes that Iran hated the most. No doubt his Quds Forces made decisive battles against ISIS or Daesh in Syria and Iraq, Al Qaeda and Taliban in the region, which was silently appreciated by the western powers including Pentagon.

There are not enough narratives about Soleimani's past, as he carefully avoided Iranian media. However, the 61-year-old father of five wasn't a religious scholar and didn't receive a religious education was an icon of Muslim fighters in the region.

In spite of his unknown reasons to participate in the demonstrations that toppled the Shah of Iran in 1979 in an Islamic Revolution orchestrated by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, but he did not hesitate to join the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and fought in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, where his future was made in solid ground.

His name was discussed in the Islamic clergy regime in Tehran after reconnaissance missions behind Iraqi lines during the war. He was given command of a special brigade during the war with Iraq. For commanding abilities and plan covert operations, he was entrusted to strengthen the Quds Force in 1998. The elite troop was raised during the Iran-Iraq war to provide military support to the Kurds in Iraq.

Soon Quds began to train foreign forces and equip them with weapons and also funded them to fight against regimes loyal to the US. The militia forces and warlords - Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen were overtly backed by Iran.

Quds was also responsible for training paramilitary forces in Iraq and Syria to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) Jihadists.

Last April, the United States in a bid to counter Iran-backed terrorism around the world listed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including the Quds Force a terrorist organisation. Earlier when the US invaded Afghanistan after the 1/11 terror attacks, Iranian officials - on Soleimani's orders - shared strategic maps with American officials of Taliban bases to target in Afghanistan.

Despite Quds involvement in attacks on US forces in Iraq after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, Soleimani cooperated with the Americans to elect Iraq's interim prime minister in 2010. US Defence Department says at least 603 American personnel were killed in hostile actions in Iraq by Iran-backed fighters.

The US in defence of Americans abroad had to strike the Quds dreaded commander. As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US airstrike that killed Soleimani disrupted an "imminent attack" and "saved American lives" in the Middle East region. Despite Iran's vow to revenge against the US for killing Qassim Soleimani, it may compel Tehran to think twice before they attack the US or its partners in the region.

First published in The New Nation, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 6 January 2020

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Email:

Khashoggi verdict is what Saudi impunity looks like

Jamal Khashoggi - File Photo

SALEEM SAMAD

On Christmas Eve, last year a Saudi court verdict exonerating the crown prince's top aides over the murder of Saudi born journalist Jamal Khashoggi and has been globally condemned as a travesty of justice.

While in exile in the United States, Khashoggi was a regular contributor to an influential American newspaper the Washington Post, the daily writes that the verdict is exactly what impunity looks like in Saudi Arabia, and it must be denounced, especially those who cares about freedom of the press.

The world Not surprised, the five unnamed Saudis were sentenced to death and three others were awarded various prison terms over the killing of the Washington Post columnist in 2018 at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. It was unclear who was sentenced to death.

He was strangled and dismembered by a 15-member Saudi death squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His body have not been found despite intense forensic searches.

What is also not a surprise that the top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's directly in the conspiracy to the worst diplomatic crimes were given royal impunity.

The murder plunged Turkey and Saudi Arabia into a diplomatic crisis, which undermines Salman's global reputation and sparked intense scrutiny of the kingdom's human rights record.

However, the murder and shadowy trial is likely to cause hiccups for Saudi Arabia as it gears up for this year's Group of 20 - G20 summit in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. Turkey obviously criticised the sham trial and called it a "scandalous" outcome that had granted "impunity" to those who had dispatched the killers - apparently pointing fingers to the crown prince.

But the U.S. State Department praised the verdict as "an important step" in holding the perpetrators accountable. The European Union reiterated the need to ensure "accountability and prosecution of all those responsible."Nevertheless, Riyadh described the murder as a "rogue" operation and obviously exonerated the crown prince for any conspiracy leading to the death of Khashoggi.

Earlier both the Central Intelligence Agency - CIA and United Nations special envoy Agnes Callamard has directly linked Prince Salma to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies.

Callamard, of course, called the verdict a "mockery," which she expressed on her Twitter: "Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death. The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial."

Why the self-exiled Saudi born journalist who was once a close ally of crown prince become the number one state enemy? Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi was an establishment insider-turned-critic.In a trial held in camera in a Riyad, the Saudi prosecutors said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw Khashoggi's killing.

The sham trial of 11 suspects accused of the murder defended themselves in court by saying they were carrying out al-Assiri's orders, describing him as the "ringleader" of the operation. Several aides who have been acquitted in the murder of Khashoggi and their names were deliberately dropped from the accuse lists will remain behind the curtain. Those aides who travelled to Istanbul will never be seen in public accompanying the crown prince for months to come to avoid global media outcry.

First published in The Asian Age, 4 January 2020

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, media rights defender, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. He can be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com

ARSA Episode: Jeopardizing Safety, Security Of Rohingya Refugees

ARSA leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi flanked by militants (Source: Al-Jazeera)

SALEEM SAMAD

International rights groups have dubbed Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as a rogue Islamic militant group, and responsible for series of crime against humanity in restive Rakhine State, Myanmar.

The ragtag radicalized militant's recruits from among Rohingyas under the leadership who were born and raised in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is creating law and order situation in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

For decades, the Rohingya have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar. The majority have escaped to Bangladesh. Tens of thousands have fled to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

ARSA remains a poorly equipped and trained force, able to do little in the way of waging a sustained campaign against Myanmar's security forces. Presently their primary goal is to consolidate power within the camps in Bangladesh, also in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) reported on 14 December 2016 that in interviews, the leaders of ARSA claimed to have links to private individuals in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The ICG also claimed in an unconfirmed report that Rohingya villagers had been "secretly trained" by Afghan and Pakistani fighters.

In 2017, ARSA leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi stated in a video posted online that "our primary objective under ARSA is to liberate our people from dehumanizing oppression perpetrated by all successive Burmese (also known as Myanmar) regimes".

The group claims to be an ethnic-nationalist insurgent group and has denied allegations that they are Islamists, claiming they are secular and "have no links to terrorist groups or foreign Islamists".

However, ARSA follows many traditional Islamic practices such as having recruits swear an oath on the Quran, referring to their leader as an emir (head of state) and asking for fatwas (Islamic religious decrees or edicts) from foreign Muslim clerics.

London based Amnesty International after conducting interviews with refugees in Bangladesh and in Rakhine State confirmed that mass killings carried out by ARSA took place in a cluster of villages in northern Maungdaw Township at the time of its attacks on police posts in late August 2017. The findings also show ARSA was responsible for low-intensity violence against civilians.

Security experts believe that the plight of the Rohingyas in Rakhine State will further deteriorate with the continued activities of ARSA in the region. This will surely endanger the good intention of the Rohingya refugees repatriation to Myanmar.

There are real dangers associated with allowing the alleged oppression against the Rohingya to continue. Several experts have already predicted that if elements of threats are left unattended the region will come face to face with a very serious security crisis.

In the void have stepped Islamist civil society organizations that are now providing education, medical assistance, and food for the refugees. Bangladeshi Islamist groups, including hardline militant groups like Hefazat-e-Islam that have engaged in violence, has established over 1000 madrasas in the camps in Cox's Bazar and Bandarban.

ARSA is striving to consolidate its authority in the world's largest refugee camps in Bangladesh. Similarly, efforts are visible in Malaysia and Indonesia. The militant outfit controls over the refugee camps not only gives them power and control over resources there but also gives them additional pressure when they "fundraise" amongst diaspora communities.

The militant outfit should be contained based on intelligence gatherings by security agencies. Their active involvement in madrasas teaching and reciting Quran is responsible for jeopardizing the safety and security of the Rohingyas in the camps. The threat perception of the refugees comes from non-combatant members of ARSA outfit.

The article was first published in The New Nation, 24 September 2019

Saleem Samad, is an independent journalist, recipient of Ashoka Fellow (USA) and Hellman-Hammett Award. Twitter @saleemsamad; Email: saleemsamad@hotmail.com