World

China has banned the name of dozens of Islamist names such as Saddam and Jihad for children in the troubled Muslim-dominated Shinxiang province, about which a prominent human rights group says that this move will deprive the children of this community from the benefits of education and government schemes. .

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), officials of Shinxiang have recently banned dozens names of religious symbols which are common among Muslim communities around the world. The reason behind imposing restrictions is that religious emotions can be accelerated by these names.

Radio Free Asia quoted an official as saying that under the rules of the names of ethnic minorities of the ruling Chinese Communist Party was banned many names like Islam, Quran, Makka, Jihad, Imam, Sadam, Haj and Madina.

According to the organization, children with restricted names will not be able to register the house of Hukou, which is essential for availing government schools and other social services.

The new verdict is part of China's war against terrorism in this troubled region. There are ten million Muslim Uyghar ethnic minority population in this area.

HRW said that this is a fresh decision in the string of rules to curb religious freedom in the name of preventing religious conspiracy.

Incidents of conflict between the Uyghar community and the majority of Han in Shinxiang are common. The Han community also has control over the government.

HRW said that the complete list of names has not yet been published.

Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has kept hideouts of the dreaded terrorist organization Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in Karachi. He had a drone attack on the Afghan border last year, but he was successful in escaping that attack. Since then Zawahiri has got refuge in Karachi.

Newsweek has quoted official sources that ISI is protecting the Egyptian-born Zawahiri in 2001 after American forces expelled Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan.

According to the source, it is most likely to be hidden in Karachi. Bruce Ridel of the CIA said that as far as his location is concerned, we are not completely convinced that at what time he is hiding at this place. Ridel has worked with the US President's top advisers in South Asia and Central Asia.

Ridel said that we have got a very good signal, which has got some material in Abatabad. Osama bin Laden was found in Abatabad, which was killed by the US Army in 2011. Our goal is in the same direction.

He said that it is the right place where we think Al-Zawahiri can be hidden. It will be easy here and he must be thinking that the US Army can not come here and will not be able to catch it.

Several sources told Newsweek that in the first week of January 2016, Barack Obama's administration targeted Zawahiri and attacked with a drone in the remote Shawal valley. This valley is located in the Federal administered tribal area of Pakistan.

A militant in this area told that Al-Zawahiri has survived in this attack, but five security guards have been killed. He said that Zawahiri was in the room. The room next to him was attacked. He said that the walls of both the rooms were completely collapsed and the debris had fallen on him due to the blast. In it, his glasses were broken. However, he survived luck.

The terrorist said that Al-Zawahiri had just left the room before ten minutes for going to sleep before attack on the room.

The terrorist further said that Zawahiri has vowed that he will never come to the hands of the American army alive.

More than 140 soldiers have died in a Taliban attack in northern Afghanistan.

Fighters targeted a mosque and a dining area at an Afghan army base in the city of Mazar-e Shharif in Balkh province on Friday.

President Ashraf Ghani was expected to visit the base later on Saturday.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride reports from Kabul.

More than 140 Afghan soldiers have been killed in the Taliban attack on a military base in Mazar-e-Sharif, the city of Balkh province. The Defense Ministry said that most of our soldiers were studying Friday prayers during the attack. More than 140 soldiers of Afghan army have been killed.

Earlier, US military spokesman Colonel John Thomas had told that the attack lasted for several hours and stopped in the evening. Nearly 50 Afghani soldiers were killed in this attack. He said that it can not be clearly stated now how far the US-led coalition army was in place of the attack.

On the other hand, Afghan Army spokesman Ahmed Javid Saleem believes that 20 soldiers have died and 31 are injured. At the same time, according to the New York Times, the number of deaths has reached 66, while 74 soldiers are injured.

Afghan Army spokesman Nasartullah Jamshedi said that the attack was near the mosque located in the military base. The soldiers were praying on Friday.

He told that six Taliban attackers came under Afghan soldier uniforms in two military vehicles. These assailants told the guards on the gate that the injured soldiers are in the vehicles and they must be delivered immediately, so they immediately open the gate. Jamshedi said that after this Taliban attackers attacked the Afghan soldiers with kerosene propelled grenades and guns. An attacker was killed in the counter action while five others were arrested.

India's PM Narendra Modi has condemned the attack in stern words. He tweeted that he condemned the masked terrorist attack in Mazar-e-Sharif. In this attack, there are total sentiments of those families who have lost their loved ones.

Pakistan is going to make new moves about former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was allegedly hanged for alleged involvement in espionage in Pakistan. Pakistan is preparing a new dossier in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, which he will present before the United Nations (UN) as proof.

According to the ANI, the new dossier being prepared by Pakistan is based on the initial statement of Kulbhushan Jadhav and the statements made by him in front of the court.

According to the Pakistani media, in the statement given by Kulbhushan Jadhav before the court, he has accepted the alleged involvement in espionage and other activities in Karachi and Blochistan.

At the same time, the dossier will also include the court martial general's certified report. Dossier will also include alleged terrorist activities of Kulbhushan Jadhav and timetable of court proceedings.

India had sought a copy of the charge sheet from Pakistan on Friday for rejecting the death sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was convicted for alleged espionage and for getting justice.

Earlier, on Friday, Pakistan rejected India's 14th request for contacting Kulbhushan Jadhav with the Indian Embassy and said that the death penalty was given according to the laws of the country.

Pakistan also said that in January, it had sought 'specific information' related to Jadhav, which was rejected by New Delhi.

In Pakistan, Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambalee met Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tahmina Janjua in Islamabad and asked for a copy of Jadhav's approval to contact the Indian Embassy and the charge sheet against him.

Family members of Pakistan's retired Colonel Mohammad Habib, who has disappeared from Nepal, have said that he has been kidnapped and it is in the hands of the enemy country's espionage agencies.

In Pakistan, India's espionage agencies are often called the detective agencies of the enemy country.

Colonel Mohammad Habib, a former Pakistan Army officer, allegedly came to Nepal to give a job interview, but retired Colonel Mohammad has disappeared after reaching Lumbini town of Nepal.

Mohammed Habib's family members have filed an FIR in Rawalpindi's Rawat police station. Saad Habib, son of Mohammad Habib, said, "I doubt my abba (father) has been abducted and for this the enemy's detective agencies can be responsible."

According to the news agency PTI, Saad told that his father found a man named Javed Ansari in Nepal who went to Lumbini with him. Lumbini is a city of Nepal located near the Indo-Nepal border.

According to reports, Habib had retired from the Pakistani army in October 2014 and used to work in the cannon department of the Pakistan Army. After retiring from the army, Mohammad Habib was working in a private firm.

Habib had applied online for jobs in Nepal. After this, a man named Mark Thompson had contacted Habib via telephone and email and provided an air ticket for interviewing him.

Habib had told his family in his last message, he has reached his whereabouts.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Nafis Zakari asked Nepali officials to investigate the disappearance of Habib.

Initial investigation revealed that a UK number was generated from the computer, whereas the e-mail and the message sent to him from the website was registered in India.

Pakistani security agencies have doubted that an enemy country agency created this trap to Mohammed Habib.

Five people including a Philippine police officer were killed Tuesday in clashes with 10 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group on the resort island of Bohol, authorities said.

At least one policeman was confirmed killed in the fight, national police spokesman Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos said in a statement.

"Security forces reported that the armed group is well-armed with heavy-calibre weapons, but now cornered in an isolated section" of Bohol, Philippine military chief of staff General Eduardo Ano said in a statement.

The incursion would be the first on the tourist island by the Abu Sayyaf, which has long engaged in kidnapping for ransom -- often targeting foreigners.

The group, also blamed for deadly bombings, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State movement that holds large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

The gunmen sailed into the Bohol town of Inabanga on Monday, going upriver toward a remote section of the island aboard three fast boats, Inabanga police officer Edwin Melicor said.

A clash broke out as police went to investigate early Tuesday, Melicor added.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khwaja Asif on Tuesday said that Kulbhushan Jadhav had the right to appeal within 60 days and he justified the death sentence awarded to this Indian citizen.

He also said that Jadhav's trial has been going on since last three months. Jadhav was sentenced to death under Army Act for alleged involvement in terrorism and espionage through Military Field General Court Marshal. Army chief General Kamar Javed Bajwa confirmed the death sentence.

Asif said in the Senate that Jadhav has the right to appeal against the death penalty in 60 days.

He rejected India's concern that the proper legal process was not followed in the hearing against Jadhav.

The Pakistan's defense minister said, "There was nothing in the legal proceedings against the law."

He also dismissed the allegations of premeditated murder, saying, "This is not a premeditated murder. What is happening in Kashmir is premeditated murder. "

Asif said that the hearing against Jadhav lasted for three months. He said that those who work against the security of Pakistan will be treated strictly with them.

The Defense Minister said, "If the enemy comes from across the border or is within Pakistan, he will be punished."

A military court in Pakistan has sentenced former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav to death for espionage charges. Alleges Pakistan Kulbhushan Jadhav was spying in Pakistan and carried out subversive activities against Pakistan.

After Pakistan was convicted of hanging Indian Kulbhushan Jadhav, India took a stern stand. India decided to ban the release of nearly a dozen Pakistani prisoners lodged in jail who had to be left on Wednesday.

The Indian government took this decision a few hours after the sentence of hanging Indian citizen Kuldeep Jadhav was sentenced to death.

The Times of India quoted official sources saying that the government feels that this is not the right time to release Pakistani prisoners. India and Pakistan were to be released in the confinement of each other's prisoners after their conviction was completed, but after the decision on Kulbhushan Jadhav, India has decided to ban the release of Pakistani prisoners.

In the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Sarabjit Singh's sister Dalbir Kaur said that he did the same with my brother, I am not surprised.

Former Chief of Raw AS Daulat said on this matter that anything is possible in Pakistan, he had hanged one of his prime ministers in the past.

At the same time, Sudhir Pawar, living in Jadhav's neighborhood in Mumbai, says he is shocked. Jadhav lived with us, we know how he was. This is a conspiracy created by Pakistan.

Pakistan's Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) has said that 'Detective was Trialed through the Field General Court Marshal under Pakistani Army Act and sentenced to death. Army Chief General Kamar Javed Bajwa has confirmed the death sentence.'

Pakistan has always been saying that Kulbhushan Jadhav is the agent of India's intelligence agency RAW.

India has expressed displeasure over Pakistan's action and summoned Pakistan's high commissioner Abdul Basit. Basit has been issued a release saying that Jadhav's sentence is ridiculous.

It is said in the Ministry of External Affairs, "If the basic principles of law and justice are not followed then the people of India and the government will consider it as thought-provoking murder."

Jadhav was arrested on 3 March 2016 from the Mashakal area of Balochistan. Jadhav is accused of spying and spreading unrest in Karachi and Balochistan.

While dismissing the allegations of Pakistan, the Indian government had said in its official statement that Jadhav has been a member of the Indian Navy ever since, and since retirement he had no contact with the Indian government or the Indian Navy.

The US has sent warships into waters near the Korean Peninsula in a show of force against North Korea's "reckless" nuclear threat.

It comes days after North Korea condemned America's strike on Syria as an act of "intolerable aggression", claiming the move justified "a million times over" their reasons for developing a nuclear deterrent.

President Donald Trump talked to China's leader Xi Jinping this week about the need for Beijing to encourage Kim Jong-Un to halt his nuclear weapons programme.

Ahead of the meeting, North Korea fired a medium-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan.

Now, in the latest sign that tensions are increasing, the US has deployed a Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier from Singapore.

It described the decision to divert the fleet from scheduled calls in Australia as "a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific".

Despite UN resolutions barring North Korea from any use of ballistic missile technology, Mr Kim has been busy developing missile capabilities. So far five nuclear tests have been staged, two of them last year.

US Pacific Command spokesman Commander Dave Benham said: "The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability."

It is feared Pyongyang may be preparing its sixth nuclear test.

Experts believe North Korea may be just two years away from developing long-range missiles capable of reaching the United States.

In February they fired four ballistic missiles towards Japan, an act Japanese PM Shinzo Abe called "absolutely intolerable".

Last August, Pyongyang successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile 500 kilometres (300 miles) towards Japan.

When it comes to putting a stop to North Korea's nuclear ambition, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said: "The policy of strategic patience has ended.

"We're exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table."

Bangladeshi opposition leader Khaleda Zia alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is selling the country to India for fulfilling her dream of remaining in power all the time.

Khaleda, a former prime minister and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, said in a party program last night, "Hasina dreams of living in power all the time. They did a lot of things for this. They did not keep anything for the country, they sold all. "

This statement of BNP chief came just a few hours after the signing of 22 agreements including defense between India and Bangladesh. In the presence of Hasina on a four-day visit India and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 22 treaties were made in key areas including defense and civilian nuclear.

However, there was no agreement on the long pending Teesta water sharing, Modi reiterated his government's commitment to solve the problem soon.

Khaleda said, "It appears that she (Haseena) will sell the rest of the country ... but world history tells us that no one survives after selling the country."

After extensive talks with Hasina, Narendra Modi announced an additional assistance of $ 500 million for Bangladesh's new loan facilities and military purchases for Bangladesh.

There is a sharp rivalry between Khaleda and Hasina, and the poison of their rivalry has been spreading in the Bangladeshi politics for the last three decades. Earlier, yesterday, the BNP termed the signing of the defense agreement as "extreme treason with the people and the country" and party spokesman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed that Bangladesh's security system would be revealed in front of India by this incident.

Rizvi said, "After signing the agreements, our security and survival have taken place at stake."

Secretary General of the Awami League and Road Transport and Bridge Minister Obaidul Kader told the BNP that he would not make any comments without the details of the agreement signed between India and Bangladesh.

Kadar said, "There is nothing in the agreement which can be hidden because it is an era of technology."