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Texas Legislature adopts two resolutions recognizing ‘Pakistan Day’

Texas Legislature adopts two resolutions recognizing ‘Pakistan Day’

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Texas Legislature adopts two resolutions recognizing 'Pakistan Day'

The Texas House of Representatives has adopted two landmark resolutions recognizing 23rd March 2023 as ‘Pakistan Day’ and 20th March 2023 as ‘Pakistan Day of Action at the State Capitol’, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan embassy here.

The resolutions were submitted by two Pakistani-American politicians– Representative Suleman Lalani and Representative Salman Bhojani — who won the support of their fellow representatives in the Texas Assembly.

Texas is the second largest state of the U.S., both in area as well as population.

Introduced by Representative Suleman Lalani, Resolution 581 was adopted by the House on 20 March 2023 stated that Pakistan Day “provides the opportunity to recognize the societal, religious, linguistic, and economic contributions of the people and families who have immigrated to Texas from Pakistan.

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“The success of Texas has been bolstered by Pakistanis and Pakistani-Texans,” the resolution said.

“Today, the State of Texas joins Pakistanis in celebrating Pakistan Day and in promoting diversity, inclusion, education, and the appreciation of Pakistani culture and the Pakistani community residing in our state.”

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Masood Khan, phoned Representative Lalani to congratulate him, according to the press release. He said the two lawmakers had made Pakistan proud and done a great service to strengthen Pak-US relations. The two resolutions, he said, would provide momentum to the efforts to promote people to people ties between Texas and Pakistan.

“The recognition of national days of Pakistan and the contributions made by Pakistani Diaspora in the United States is a huge stride for the Pakistan-US community,” he said.

Resolution 600, introduced by Representative Salman Bhojani, recognizes Pakistan Day of Action at the State Capitol on 20th March and highlights close cooperative relationship between Pakistan and Texas in a range of mutually beneficial fields including trade, energy, education and cultural exchanges.

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“Members of the Pakistani-American community contribute to the vibrancy and prosperity of the Lone Star State in myriad ways, and the participants in this advocacy day are demonstrating their commitment to making an even more positive impact through active civic engagement.”

During the telephonic conversation with the Ambassador, Representative Suleman Lalani briefed him about the resolutions and the efforts being made to project soft power of the country.
“By projecting our true image, norms and values, we are endeavoring to bridge the gap between the communities and countries,” he said.

Ambassador Khan appreciated the efforts being made to strengthen the existing relationship and encouraged Representative Lalani and his peers to visit Pakistan along with entrepreneurs and academics to introduce them to real Pakistan.

The Ambassador also called upon Representative Lalani and other leaders of Pakistani-descent to work on establishing institutional linkages and Sister State-Province Agreement between the two sides to streamline and broaden the scope of bilateral cooperation.

“Building strong networks of law-makers, business community, professionals, academics and others would help us creating better understanding of each other and forging robust partnerships in diverse areas,” he said.

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The Ambassador assured Representative Lalani of full support of the Embassy of Pakistan in their endeavors to bring the people of two sides closer .

Representative Suleman Lalani reiterated his commitment to continue serving mutual interests of Pakistan and the United States, the press release said.

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Russia persists in blaming Ukraine for concert attack despite its denial and Islamic State’s claim

Russia persists in blaming Ukraine for concert attack despite its denial and Islamic State’s claim

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Russia persists in blaming Ukraine for concert attack despite its denial and Islamic State's claim

Russian officials persisted Tuesday in saying Ukraine and the West had a role in last week’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack despite vehement denials of involvement by Kyiv and a claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group.

Without offering any evidence, Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, followed similar allegations by President Vladimir Putin, who linked the attack to Ukraine even as he acknowledged that the suspects who were arrested were “radical Islamists.”

The IS affiliate claimed it carried out the attack, and U.S. intelligence said it had information confirming the group was responsible. French President Emmanuel Macron said France also has intelligence pointing to “an IS entity” as responsible for the attack.

But despite the signs pointing to IS, Putin insisted on alleged Ukrainian involvement — something that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected, accusing the Kremlin leader of trying to drum up fervor as his forces fight in Ukraine.

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Bortnikov alleged that Western spy agencies also could have been involved in the deadliest terror attack on Russian soil in two decades, even as he acknowledged receiving a U.S. tip about the attack.

“We believe that radical Islamists prepared the action, while Western special services have assisted it and Ukrainian special services had a direct part in it,” Bortnikov said without giving details.

He repeated Putin’s claim that the four gunmen were trying to escape to Ukraine when they were arrested. casting it as a proof of alleged involvement by Kyiv.

But that assertion was undercut slightly by Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. who said Tuesday the suspects were headed for Ukraine because they feared tight controls on the Belarus border.

Russia is still reeling from the attack Friday in which gunmen killed 139 people in the Crocus City Hall, a concert venue on the outskirts of Moscow. Health officials said about 90 people remain hospitalized, with 22 of them, including two children, in grave condition.

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The four men accused of carrying out the attack appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

The men are citizens of Tajikistan, authorities said, and were identified as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Shamsidin Fariduni, 25; and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19. They were charged with committing a terrorist attack resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

A senior Turkish security official confirmed Tuesday that two of them spent a “short amount of time” in Turkey before traveling together to Russia on March 2.

One of the suspects, Fariduni, entered Turkey on Feb. 20, checked into a hotel in Istanbul’s Fatih district the next day, and checked out Feb. 27, the official said. The other, Rachabalizoda, checked into a hotel in the same district on Jan. 5, checking out on Jan. 21.

The official said Turkish authorities believe the two “became radicalized in Russia” because they were not in Turkey for long. There was no warrant for their arrest so they were allowed to travel freely between Russia and Turkey, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

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The Islamic State group, which lost much of its ground after Russia’s military action in Syria, has long targeted Russia. In October 2015, a bomb planted by IS downed a Russian jetliner over the Sinai desert, killing all 224 people aboard, most of them Russian vacationers returning from Egypt.

The group, which operates mainly in Syria and Iraq but also in Afghanistan and Africa, also has claimed several attacks in Russia’s volatile Caucasus and other regions in the past years. It recruited fighters from Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

On Monday, Putin warned that more attacks could follow, alleging possible Western involvement. He didn’t mention the warning about a possible imminent terrorist attack that the U.S. shared confidentially with Moscow two weeks before the raid.

Three days before the attack, Putin denounced the U.S. Embassy’s March 7 notice urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, including concerts, calling it an attempt to frighten Russians and “blackmail” the Kremlin ahead of the presidential election.

Bortnikov said Russia was thankful for the warning but described it as very general.

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“The information about preparations for terror attacks in large gatherings of people was of a general nature,” he said. “Of course, we reacted to that information and took corresponding measures to prevent such incidents.”

He added that the FSB acted on the tip, targeting a group of suspects he didn’t identify but which eventually proved false.

“We are thankful, of course, but we would like to see more specifics,” Bortnikov said.

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Israel asks US to reschedule scrapped meeting on Rafah offensive plans

Israel asks US to reschedule scrapped meeting on Rafah offensive plans

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Israel asks US to reschedule scrapped meeting on Rafah offensive plans

Israel has asked to reschedule a meeting with US officials to discuss its military plans in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, a US official said on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly scrapped the planned talks.

Netanyahu called off a planned visit to Washington by a senior Israeli delegation after the US allowed passage of a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the United Nations on Monday, in a move that appeared to reflect growing US frustration with the Israeli premier.

US officials said the Biden administration was perplexed by the Israeli cancellation and considered it an overreaction to the Security Council resolution, insisting there had been no change in policy.

On Wednesday, a US official said Netanyahu’s office “has said they’d like to reschedule the meeting dedicated to Rafah. We are now working with them to set a convenient date.”

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Netanyahu is considering sending a delegation for a White House meeting on Rafah as early as next week but the scheduling is still being worked out, an Israeli official in Washington told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli prime minister’s office.

The planned talks are expected to focus on Israel’s threatened offensive in Rafah, the last relatively safe haven for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The White House said last week it intended to share with Israeli officials alternatives for eliminating the Palestinian militant group Hamas without a ground offensive in Rafah that Washington says would be a “disaster.” 

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Ireland to sign up to EU migration pact

Ireland to sign up to EU migration pact

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Ireland to sign up to EU migration pact

 Ireland agreed on Wednesday to sign up to new EU rules designed to share the cost and work of hosting migrants and also launched a fresh bid to overhaul how it accommodates arrivals following protests around the country.

Immigration has shot up the political agenda in Ireland after more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees – the largest number per capita in Western Europe – joined record numbers of asylum seekers in seeking shelter amid a crippling housing crisis.

The government said its decision to sign up the rules agreed by EU governments in December – where countries are assigned a share of arrivals with new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum – would speed up its processes.

Ministers also laid out plans to deliver 14,000 state-owned beds by 2028 to accommodate asylum seekers in a bid to move away from its current “full reliance” on private providers which has led to a continuous scramble for accommodation and seen some arrivals pitch up tents on the street.

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The system will still be supplemented, as required, by commercial providers but ministers pledged to end the use of unsuitable accommodation options currently relied upon, such as the sole hotel remaining in a given town.

The removal of such services from many small towns has led to objections from locals and anti-migrant protestors.

The government, which has been unable to stop a continuous rise in record levels of homelessness, said it would boost the accommodation for asylum seekers through the use of modular units on state land, the purchase of properties, the building of new reception centres and the conversation of commercial buildings.

The plan replaces an undelivered 2021 strategy to house all applicants in state-run accommodation that was based on 3,500 new arrivals each year. Over 30,000 people have arrived in Ireland since January 2022 seeking international protection.

Prime Minister-in-waiting Simon Harris told reporters earlier on Wednesday that the plans were a step in the right direction towards the “firm but fair” system on migration he advocated in a speech on Sunday. 

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