Campaigner Khurram Parvez, 46, has been in jail since 2021. Twitter/ @KhurramParvez
Campaigner Khurram Parvez, 46, has been in jail since 2021. Twitter/ @KhurramParvez
Campaigner Khurram Parvez, 46, has been in jail since 2021. Twitter/ @KhurramParvez
Campaigner Khurram Parvez, 46, has been in jail since 2021. Twitter/ @KhurramParvez

India arrests Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez


Taniya Dutta
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India's anti-terror agency has arrested an activist from the disputed Kashmir region, leading to criticism from rights groups.

Khurram Parvez, 46, was already in jail when he was formally arrested by the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday on a charge of funding terrorism.

The programme co-ordinator with Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a non-profit organisation in Kashmir, has been in prison since November 2021 over charges of supplying sensitive military information to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group.

His arrest comes two days after the NIA detained his close associate Irfan Mehraj, a journalist from Srinagar.

Mr Mehraj was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which gives police powers to hold suspects, question them and search properties without judicial mandate. Under the act, police can jail people for six months without bail, and without any charges being filed against them.

“Investigation revealed that the JKCCS was funding terror activities in the [Kashmir] valley and had also been in the propagation of a secessionist agenda in the valley under the garb of protection of human rights,” the NIA said.

“NGOs, both registered as well as unregistered, have come to notice collecting funds domestically and abroad under the cover of doing charity and various welfare … but some of these organisations have developed links with proscribed terrorist organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen.”

The arrests of Mr Parvez and Mr Mehraj led to angry comments on social media.

“I stand with Khurram Parvez. I stand with Irfan Mehraj. In solidarity,” author Angana P Chaterrji wrote on Twitter.

Anwar Ali, a social activist, tweeted: “The crackdown by the state on Kashmiri journalists and activists must be seen as a concerted effort to suppress any and every dissenting voice that dares."

The Press Club of India said it opposed the use of the act for arresting journalists and activists.

“The misuse of this draconian law by NIA in randomly arresting Irfan Mehraj, a journalist from Kashmir, ominously points towards a violation of freedom of speech and expression," it said. "We demand his immediate release.”

Six journalists have been jailed under the act, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Four of them are from Kashmir, where militants have been fighting against Indian rule for more than three decades. They include Aasif Sultan, who has been in prison for more than four years.

ICC Awards for 2021

MEN

Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)

WOMEN

Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)

Stormy seas

Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.

We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice. 

What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

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In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.

Why is it important?

Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.

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The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.

How can I improve my score?

By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.

How do I know if my score is low or high?

By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.

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A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.

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GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

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Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR

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Transmission: eight-speed automatic

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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history

4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon

- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.

50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater

1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.  

1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.

1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.

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'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'

Director:Michael Lehmann

Stars:Kristen Bell

Rating: 1/5

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

Based: Media City, Dubai 

Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

Polarised public

31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views

19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all

Source: YouGov

The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter

1. Dubai silk road

2.  A geo-economic map for Dubai

3. First virtual commercial city

4. A central education file for every citizen

5. A doctor to every citizen

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7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes

8. Co-operative companies in various sectors

­9: Annual growth in philanthropy

Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.

The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.

The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.

The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.

Wayne Rooney's career

Everton (2002-2004)

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Manchester United (2004-2017)

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England (2003-)

  • Appearances: 119
  • Goals: 53
Updated: March 23, 2023, 10:45 AM