KOLKATA (AP TV) – The Shahi Imam of Kolkata’s Tipu Sultan Mosque Maulana Nurur Rehman Barkati has issued a ‘fatwa’ against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Imam has also offered Rs25 lac reward for anyone who will “cut off PM Narendra Modi’s beard, shave his head and smear him with black ink”.

The fatwa says that demonetization has caused severe problems for a common man whereas majority of India wants to see Mamta Banerjee as the prime minister.

“Everyday people are harassed and facing problem due to demonetisation…Modi is bluffing the society and the innocent people of the country through demonetisation and nobody wants him to continue as PM,” The Shahi Imam said during a press conference as quoted by The Indian Express.

“People who keep beard are mostly religious like maulanas, sadhus, sufis, sikh gurus.. But Modi keeping beard is bhondami (bluffing),” he added.

On the other hand, BJP state secretary Ritesh Tiwari had lodged a police complaint in Jorasakho police station and demanded action against the Imam.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of mourners led by Iran’s supreme leader gathered at Tehran University early on Tuesday for the funeral of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

State television showed people pouring on to the streets around the campus where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led the eulogies for Rafsanjani despite their "differences".

President Hassan Rouhani, parliament speaker Ali Larijani and his brother judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani accompanied the supreme leader at the prayers.

Former president Mohammad Khatami, an ally of Rafsanjani but long out of favour with the regime, was not part of the official delegation at the service.

The heavyweight politician, who died on Sunday at the age of 82, will be buried inside the crypt of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Khomeini’s mausoleum is in south Tehran.

Black banners were raised in Tehran and some posters showed the supreme leader and Rafsanjani together smiling. Another poster said "good bye, old combatant".

Free bus or metro travel was provided to the funeral venue.

Since Rafsanjani’s death, messages of condolence have poured in both from at home and and abroad.

Even the White House sent a message, unprecedented since the 1979 revolution that led to cutting of ties between Tehran and Washington.

"Former president Rafsanjani was a prominent figure throughout the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States sends our condolences to his family and loved ones," spokesman Josh Ernest said.

"He was a consequential figure inside Iran. But you know, for what potential impact this could have on Iranian policy, I wouldn’t speculate."

One of Iran’s most controversial figures in the West, the head of its Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations division, Major General Qassem Suleimani, was seen at the funeral.

Rafsanjani was a father-figure for Iran’s moderate and reformist camps.

He fell out of the regime’s highest inner circle after the 2009 re-election of hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when he spoke out against the use of lethal force on protesters who claimed the vote was rigged.

Video clips published on social media showed pockets of mourners in the streets around the funeral venue chanting slogans in support of Khatami and fellow reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, two of the losing candidates in the 2009 election, have been under house arrest since 2011 for leading the so-called Green Movement protests that the regime calls "sedition".

Khatami is under a strict media ban and often prevented from attending public events.

Rafsanjani’s son Mohsen invited people to attend the service "in full tranquility".

"Ayatollah Rafsanjani’s concern was unity... and we should show off our unity to the world," he said on Monday.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran said Tuesday it had finally received an official invitation from Saudi Arabia for its pilgrims to attend this year’s hajj, two weeks after Riyadh announced it.

There was no official Iranian delegation at last year’s pilgrimage to the Muslim holy places after Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran following the torching of its missions in Tehran and Mashhad by protesters last January.

It was the first time in three decades that Iranian pilgrims had been absent and the culmination of years of worsening relations over the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

The tone is "not that much different from past letters", hajj affairs representative Ali Ghazi Askar said, adding that Iran would respond in the coming days.

"All matters regarding the hajj -- including accommodation, food, medical affairs, transport, pilgrims’ security, banking and consular issues -- must immediately be studied and appropriate solutions put forward."

Negotiations for Iranian pilgrims to join last year’s hajj broke down over the questions of where their visas should be issued and how their security could be assured following the deaths of 464 in a stampede at the 2015 hajj.

The Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper reported on December 30 that Saudi Pilgrimage Minister Mohammed Bentin had opened discussions with more than 80 countries, including Iran, on the arrangements for the 2017 hajj.

There was no immediate word on when or where the discussions might take place. 

KARACHI (News92world-AP TV) - Pakistan s exports continued to face a declining trend as exports in July-Dec 2016 fell by 4pc to $9.91 billion when compared with same period of last fiscal year, as per date issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

During the same period last year, export figures stood at $10.31 billion.

Only in month of December in 2016, exports fell by 3.09pc when compared with same period of previous fiscal year.

On contrary, country’s imports continued upward trajectory in July-Dec 2016 and soared by 10.11pc to $24.40 billion. During last fiscal year, import figure stood at $22.16 billion.

Sources revealed that issuance of fund worth Rs6 billion as per guidelines of new three-year trade policy has been delayed by federal government.

Being worried by increasing trade deficit, economists urge federal government to take immediate steps in order to reduce production cost so that Pakistani products can compete in international markets.

Moreover, sources from Ministry of commerce revealed that Prime Minister is all set to announce bailout-cum-incentive package worth Rs47 to Rs155 billion which could likely uplift Pakistani exports by $2 billion to $3 billion every year. 

UYUNI (AFP) - Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel won Monday s Dakar Rally special after narrowly edging Peugeot teammate and compatriot Sebastien Loeb in the first part of the rain-hit seventh stage between La Paz and Uyuni in Bolivia.

ZURICH (AFP) - Atletico Nacional collected the Fair Play prize at Monday s FIFA awards ceremony after the Colombian side requested Chapecoense receive the Copa Sudamericana title following a plane crash that decimated the Brazilian club.

Chapecoense were flying to Medellin ahead of the first leg of the final when their plane crashed in the Colombian mountains on November 28, killing all but six of the 77 people on board.

Nineteen players and 24 other club members perished as the accident tragically cut short their dream of playing in Chapecoense s first major final.

Atletico subsequently asked for their grieving opponents to be awarded the title, with South American football s governing body granting the request a week later.

Fans of both sides paid tribute to the victims as thousands, dressed in white and holding candles, piled into Atletico s stadium for the originally planned kick-off to grieve together and mourn those lost.

"It s still a difficult time, it was a big final and the tragedy struck our opponents, it s an indescribable moment, very hard to manage," said Atletico president Juan Carlos de la Cuesta upon receiving the award from former Barcelona and Spain defender Carles Puyol in Zurich.

"We ve tried to manage this situation in the most dignified way possible."

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – Ana Obarrio de Pereyra Iraola’s dream of becoming a tennis star was put on hold in 1949 when her husband stopped her playing. For the next 20 years, she concentrated on raising their 10 children instead.

She spoke to AFP just after winning the Argentina Senior Masters in the 80-plus category.

Obarrio’s family indulged her love of tennis. She started playing as a girl and was a youth champion. But the social mores of late 1940s Argentina got the better of her after she met her husband when she was 18.

Shortly afterwards, she gave up an opportunity to play in a major international tournament.

"My husband didn’t like me playing mixed doubles with men... I didn’t play again after that," she recalls.

"I don’t regret it. I would do the same again. My first joy is my children. Tennis comes next."

She resumed playing with friends in her 40s. In her 60s, after her husband’s death, she started competing seriously again. Obarrio trains three times a week on a court her family built for her at her country estate.

"She has the best style of play of anyone in her category," said Norma Baylon, an Argentine tennis star from the 1960s.

Argentina has about 1,000 competitive players in the seniors category -- more than most countries.

"As players get older, the aim is to run less and achieve greater precision in their shots," says coach Roberto Alvarez, director of the Argentine Senior Masters 2016.

Obarrio plays in 1950s-style flat-soled white canvas shoes and stylized shorts and t-shirt that recall the days of her youth.

"I put on my shoes and feel the ground of the court," she says. "It gives me immense pleasure."

Two of Obarrio’s daughters and six of her grandchildren come to watch her beat an 80-year-old rival in their hour-long Masters final on the Hurlingham clay.

Obarrio ranks third in the country in her age group. This year she aims to play in the seniors world championships in Florida.

"I am obsessed with winning that," she says.

Obarrio has 37 grandchildren.

"She is very free-spirited," says one of them, Lupe, 19, after watching her Masters victory.

"She is an unusual grandmother."

(Published by: Dunya News)

SHIMSHAL (Awesome News): A weeklong basic mountaineering camp organized by Pakistan Youth Outreach in collaboration with Karakorum Expedition, came to its end. This year marked successful conclusion of 6th Basic Mountaineering and 2nd National Ice Climbing championship at Malangudi Glacier Shimshal.\

For the past six years, Pakistan Youth Outreach has been organizing outdoor sports related events for youth. The outdoor mountaineering training camp is initiative of mountaineering duo siblings, Ms. Samina Baig and Mr. Mirza Ali, as a part of wider youth outreach program. In particular, the purpose of this event is to promote outdoor sports, encourage women participation in challenging adventure sports and promote tourism specially winter & adventure tourism in Pakistan.

The event had around 25 participants, representing different regions of Pakistan, from Sindh, Punjab, PATA (swat), AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. Out of total 25 members, there were 13 girls from different professions and of age group between 17 to 48 years. This year’s event also had three foreign participants, two females and a male from Norway, USA and Germany respectively.

The weeklong mountaineering camp concluded with the 2nd National Ice Climbing Competition. The initial plan was for the championship to be held at the Pakistan’s first artificial wall, however due to global warming affecting Shimshal’s winter this year the wall couldn’t be built. The championship was therefore held at the foot of Malangudi Glacier’s natural ice wall.

The Championship is a promotion of winter Olympics in Pakistan and engaging youth in healthy activities. The competition was divided into two categories for girls and boys. After a thrilling competition, under boys category Mr. Sultan Mirza age 17 secured the first position, 1st National ice champion Mr. Ahmed Baig came to 2nd place and Mr. Reco from Germany secured 3rd position.

In a compelling competition among girls, Ms. Siv Ann secured 1st position, 1st National Ice climbing Champion Ms. Samana Rahim secured 2nd position and Ms.Maira Wafa held 3rd position.

The full day championship was followed by an award distribution ceremony, which was a perfect way to end the event, with winners being awarded with unique prizes of ice climbing tools.

Mr. Reco, Mr. Kalim swaty highly appreciated PYO for organizing such events for the youth of Pakistan and hoped for this to continue in future. Mr. Saleem an engineer by profession also commended the event and showed his eagerness to join similar events in the future. Ms. Natasha and Zoya from Sindh also expressed their gratitude and thanked Mr. Mirza Ali and Ms. Samina Baig for organizing such a wonderful event.

The event came to a great end and all the participants greatly enjoyed their time & learning experience, and happily returned home after spending a night in Shimshal village. The basic mountaineering camp was an inspiration and motivation for the young participants, as it taught them not only the basic climbing techniques, but also unique survival skills and provided a great platform for social interaction.

Ms.Samina and Mr.Mirza Ali highly appreciated the participants for their courage, interest and enthusiasm for outdoor sports and appreciated participants’ families for allowing and trusting PYO to send their children in this outdoor camp specially in case of young girls. This was indeed a great message of women empowerment and gender equality.

Pakistan Youth outreach will continue to organize similar events in the future for youth with same objectives. Pakistan Youth outreach next event is Ski4Freedom starting from 20th -27th January and first ski event in Chipursan valley from 1st till 4th February.

But for four centuries, the name of a female ruler in Gilgit has been recalled every time the crops were watered a sip was taken at one of the two irrigation canals that feed the valley.

Dadi Jawari, a 17th century ruler of Gilgit, gave the region perhaps one of its greatest gifts ever.

Ajeeni daljah and Khireeni daljah are the two main irrigation channels feeding Gilgit which had been built by Jawari between 1630 and 1660 AD.

They had been built to irrigate what is now Kashrote, Nargal, Majini Muhallas, Barmas and Sonikot areas in the heart of Gilgit.

“I am sure that she was one of the finest administrators this region has even seen,” says Sherbaz Bercha, a noted historian in Gilgit-Baltistan.

“The two main channels [Ajeeni daljah and Khireeni daljah] were dug during her rule and I must say we owe the expansion of our city to that great lady,” Barcha told The Express Tribune.

The channels were built to help expand existing settlements of the time which were confined to Barmas, Jutial and Napoor.
Interestingly, Gilgit’s residents refused to help with the canal’s construction.

The queen, thus, was forced to seek help from the Darel valley – what is today known as the Diamer district – to build her canal.

In the absence of proper recorded history of the region, Barcha conceded that they mostly rely on folklore and other accounts to piece together the history.

Ahmad Hasan Dani, a famous historian who wrote History of Northern Areas of Pakistan, wrote that Dadi Jawari used to dress like a man and ride horses and issued orders in her name.

“She took great interest in ameliorating the lives of people, undertook many welfare measures and built many roads in the country, [region]” Dani wrote. He corroborates the construction of the canals in his book.

The queen is also said to have travelled to all parts of her dominion, meeting the locals and inquiring after their troubles.

Once when she was said to be visiting the Sanekar fort in Bagrote area, she was besieged by her opponents. But being a resourceful and capable woman, she managed to break through the siege.

According to Dani, Jawari twice ruled the region. First from 1630 to 1660 AD and then from 1689 to 1705.

This account, however, is disputed by another historian, the late Shah Raees Khan. He says Jawari ruled Gilgit from 1642 to 1667.

While Jawari brought the gift of water to greater Gilgit, it has been neglected by subsequent generations.

The water of the canals was used for drinking till the early 80s. However, a fast growing population and lack of care for the canals means that water in the channels is highly contaminated and not fit for drinking.

Despite that, the canals, along with her work for women empowerment, mean that Jawari is immortalised in the region.
Today, we can see some of her legacy carried forward by pioneering women such as famous climber Samina Baig. via ET

(Published by: Mountain TV)

GILGIT (AP TV): Hasan stands outside a house in a Gilgit street. He is visibly nervous. “Should I knock on the door,” he hesitantly asks a group of boys surrounding him. “Yes you have to,” replies a boy in the group. Excited to be doing it for the first time, Hasan pulled down his mask and knocks on the door.

When the door opens, the entire group of children rushes in and starts performing a traditional play. The 14-year-old was part of ‘Shaap’, a traditional form of street theatre popular in Gilgit. It is a nascent form of  entertainment for children.

The shows are performed by groups of around 15 young boys, aged between 10 and 17. During the cold winter nights of December and January, they go house-to-house knocking on doors. When someone lets them in, they start performing the musical play.

The main characters in ‘Shaap’ are “Jaro” and “Jari” – a old man and an old woman, respectively. The couple’s characters are usually performed by teenagers under the age of 15. Their props are generally limited to masks and walking sticks to add a bit of visual depth to their characters.

The boys also bring their own musical arrangements, with the senior-most member of group carrying a drum.

The drummer usually goes door-to-door, beating the drum to alert residents about the arrival of Jari and Jaro, as the rest of the team who follow in tow.

“Apart from alerting the residents, the drumbeat ‘heats up’ the frozen atmosphere and the actors,” said city resident Altaf Khan.

The boys only visit around four houses a night before returning to their respective homes due to the extreme cold.

But in some cases, residents are not interested in allowing the kids into their homes. They simply tell the boys off at the gate.

But the boys are stubborn and do not leave without exacting a ‘tip’ – which could range from Rs10 to Rs200.

Once the ‘tip’ exchanges hands, the boys move on to the next house, happy to have at least earned something.

Dying tradition

While boys continue to perform the traditional theatre in areas such as Nagral, Kashrot, Majini Muhalla, Barmas, Amphery and Napura, its prevalence has decreased considerably over the years.

Technology is the chief culprit in this regard, keeping young and old alike preoccupied.

“There was a time when we had free time for such activities,” Khan told The Express Tribune.

“But now our kids only have time for technology,” he said, fearing that the decades old tradition was at risk of being forgotten.