Latest news with #Faruk
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
B'desh man, who entered India over a yr ago, arrested
Howrah: Police on Monday night arrested a Bangladeshi citizen, who reportedly crossed over into India illegally around 15 months ago. Faruk Sheikh (36), a resident of Mouli village in Narail district in Bangladesh, had paid a Bangladeshi facilitator, Sajjadul Biswas, Bangladeshi Taka 20,000 or around Rs 14,000 in Indian currency. Initially, he lived in Mumbai before arriving at Howrah station on Sunday. Sajjadul, who was in another compartment on the same train, reportedly cut off contact and his mobile became unreachable, police said. Cops at the Shibpur Police Station were alerted by residents who spotted Faruk seeking employment in the PM Basti area of Shibpur on Monday evening. Cops, on questioning, found no passport or visa on Faruk and arrested him under the Foreigners Act. During interrogation, he reportedly gave multiple versions of entering into India—through the Nadia border, Bongaon border and the unfenced area. He told police he worked as a mason during his stay in Mumbai. Cops reportedly found no Indian ID document though they found some papers with unclear drawings, which Faruk claimed, were connected to his masonry profession. The authorities are investigating Faruk's motive behind entering India and his planned return to Bangladesh. He was on Tuesday remanded in police custody for five days. Last week, a chauffeur, Azad Sheikh (41), who was apprehended for driving rashly, turned out to be a Bangladeshi national. On interrogation, he revealed that he managed to obtain Indian documents from a Nazat resident, Zafar Ali Sheikh, by paying Rs 15,000. He used those papers for his job. Police said an investigation was on to identify individuals crossing the border without proper documents, finding accommodation with relatives or through intermediaries, and subsequently, obtaining legitimate Indian identity documents against a modest amount. An earlier probe into passports being issued without proper verification of documents revealed that around 120 Bangladeshi nationals acquired Indian passports illegally and travelled abroad. In those cases, police had filed charges against 130 individuals, including suspected operatives.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Victims of Turkey's Kurdish militant conflict long for peace
By Daren Butler KIZILTEPE, Turkey (Reuters) - Cihan Sincar clings to hope that Turkey's bid to end a decades-old Kurdish insurgency brings the peace her lawmaker husband sought before his assassination - one of hundreds of political killings at the height of the conflict. Mehmet Sincar, one of Turkey's first pro-Kurdish party lawmakers, was gunned down in the southeastern city of Batman in 1993 as he himself investigated unsolved killings. His wife has waited in vain for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. His is one of tens of thousands of deaths during a conflict which jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan is calling on his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to end. Many Kurds like Cihan are torn between distrust of the government and longing for peace. "We want to see those days. He really gave his life for peace, for the struggle for peace and democracy," she said in the city of Kiziltepe, near the Syrian border, where she has served as mayor since her husband's murder. "But I also have doubts. They (the Turkish state) have deceived me many times," she said before visiting the cemetery where her husband is buried, caressing the gravestone bearing his picture. Clandestine paramilitary groups are suspected of having carried out extra-judicial killings in the 1990s, mostly related to the PKK conflict, human rights groups say. The PKK conflict has killed more than 40,000 people since it began in 1984, leaving tens of thousands wounded, including Turkish security force members, militants and civilians alike. One Turkish military veteran of the conflict, Major Mehmet Bedri Aluclu, lost his eyesight and both forearms when a PKK mine that he was defusing exploded in Siirt province in 2007. Aluclu, with books that he has since written about the PKK on the table beside him, is sceptical about peace prospects. "If only the PKK would dissolve itself... The probability of such a thing is zero," he said at his home in Ankara. "It has a history of 50 years. These things don't happen in one day." MOTHERS OF PKK RECRUITS In Diyarbakir, main city in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast, mothers of youths believed to have joined the PKK have protested in recent years against Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, accusing it of helping the PKK recruit their children. The party denies this. Guzide Demir said her son, Aziz, left home in Diyarbakir nine years ago when he was 17. She said he called six years ago, saying he was in hospital with a wounded leg in Syria, where the Kurdish YPG militia – which Turkey says is part of the PKK – has fought against both Islamic State militants and Turkey-backed forces. Since then she has not heard from him again, but said "God willing this peace will happen and all our children will come". Rahime Tasci's son Faruk was 15 when he left home in Kars province 11 years ago to go to the market and did not return. "Surrender to justice. Do something Faruk. Put down that gun," she said, clutching a photo of her only child. "These children must be brought home. God willing, with the power of the state, there will be peace."
Voice of America
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
Optimism grows as Niger holds convention on transition plans
Niger is set to hold a national convention to map out its long-awaited political transition following the July 2023 coup that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. Junta leader, General Abdourahamane Tchiani, says the dialogue will be inclusive, set governance priorities and determine the transition timeline. Niger's military announced on state television last Saturday that the national convention will take place from February 15-19. Authorities said the meeting is expected to produce a preliminary draft of the transition charter. Junta leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani had initially committed to a three-year transition after seizing power from President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023. But months of silence on the issue fueled uncertainty among Nigeriens and international observers. Ibrahim Faruk, program coordinator for the African division at Yiaga Africa, said the convention is a step in the right direction. "This signals the beginning of the timeline for a transition to a democratically elected government in the Republic of Niger," said Faruk. "I think why this is important is that democratic stability in the West African subregion has a way of creating a ripple effect. We saw how once there were coups and attempted coups in some of these countries, it caused a ripple effect. But beyond just a return to [a] democratic government, it must also provide the promise of development that comes with democracy as well." Ahead of the convention, authorities held consultations across Niger's eight regions and formed a national commission to oversee the dialogue. At the end of the meeting, the commission is expected to submit a final report to Tchiani within three weeks. The July 2023 coup triggered widespread condemnation, including threats of military intervention from the regional Economic Community of West African States, known as ECOWAS. Niger's political crisis reflects a broader trend in the Sahel, where military takeovers have become more frequent amid escalating jihadist threats and growing resentment toward civilian governments. Faruk believes Niger could set a positive example. "Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, who have witnessed unconstitutional change of government — I think one common thread that has been running through these three countries is that there hasn't been adherence to previously agreed transition timelines." said Faruk. "[So,] I hope that with this step in the Republic of Niger, it will signal to their brothers in Mali and Burkina Faso that indeed there's an importance to return back to democratically elected government." Mali and Burkina Faso, both under military rule, have extended their transition timelines, despite initially pledging a quicker return to democracy. Mali's military attributes the delay to a second coup in 2021, just months after overthrowing President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. Burkina Faso's junta postponed elections, citing security concerns. Political analyst Ahmed Buhari said a transition plan is a good step, but "it's very important for us Africans to know that we cannot copy and paste an entire system and expect it to work with different cultural views, values and norms," he said. "And that is why I think that we're struggling as a continent to find stability, economic growth, security, and most importantly, identity for our people. Different democracies will work for different people around the world. We must create a democratic environment that is suitable for our current realities and challenges." Critics warn that prolonged military rule remains a strong possibility in the Sahel.
