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Telangana now has a ‘Sonu Sood Temple’: Fans perform aarti for actor’s statue

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana now has a ‘Sonu Sood Temple’: Fans perform aarti for actor’s statue

Actor Sonu Sood, who had been in media highlights for his efforts to send migrant workers home amidst the lockdown, now has a ‘temple’ where he is being worshipped. The locals in Dubba Tanda village in Siddipet in Telangana have now dedicated a temple in the name of the actor.

While speaking about it on Sunday, a local emphasised, “He helped so many people during the pandemic. It’s a matter of great delight for us that we’ve constructed his temple.” His well-wishers had also unveiled a statue of the actor.

In a video shared on Twitter, the locals could be seen performing ‘aarti’ at the temple and raise slogans of ‘Jai Ho Sonu Sood’. “India has only one God and that is Sonu Sood”, claimed another fan.

Erecting ‘temples’ for movie actors have been seen in many cases. Actor Amitabh Bachchan, Tamil actor-turned politician Karunanidhi, Rajnikanth, legendary Telugu actor NTR, actress Khushboo Sundar also have temples built by fans.

Sonu Sood emerges at the top in Twitter engagement

Twitteet is an analytics platform that provides ratings and ranks politicians, entertainers, journalists and others based on engagements on the social media platform. It was reported that Sonu Sood gained more Twitter engagements than any other entertainer. Sonu Sood garnered more than triple the number of engagements than Shah Rukh Khan, who came second.

Amusingly, however, Sood has only a fraction of the followers that Shah Rukh Khan has. Sood has become somewhat of a meme on social media since the Coronavirus lockdowns began, that perhaps explains the high engagement.

COVID vaccinations to start in January, will be tracked digitally at each step: Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

OpIndia Staff
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COVID vaccinations to start in January, will be tracked digitally at each step: Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan

On Sunday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan talked to ANI about several issues related to coronavirus and India’s preparedness to eradicate the infection. He said that the union government has been working with the state governments for the past four months to prepare the nation at block level for the Covid-19 vaccination.

India has experience with mass immunization programs

The Health Minister talked about India’s experience in mass immunization programs, including the campaign to get India polio-free. He said, “As far as the country’s ability is concerned, I would like to remind that around 25 years ago, India had 60% of polio-affected children in the world. We started giving vaccines to children below the age of five years on a single day. I got support from people. We first did it in Delhi, which was followed by other parts of the country. Many Southeast Asian nations followed the country’s model. We gave vaccines to children for two decades and the result was that in 2014, India came in the WHO category of polio-free nations.”

He further added that India also carried out a universal immunization program to give 12 types of vaccines to children. India is prepared, and there is no shortcoming in the country’s abilities. “We have involved the state governments, made a task force at the state level, district, and block levels too. We have provided training to master trainers in the country and also at the state level we have provided training. We have given training in 260 districts to more than 20,000 people,” he added.

Vaccine delivery to be monitored by a digital platform

In the ANI interview, the minister also talked about the Co-WIN digital platform that will help in monitoring Covid-19 vaccine delivery in real-time. He said, “Co-Win has been developed as a platform where the vaccine will be tracked along with its temperature. It will also track the potential beneficiary up to the point till that person gets a second dose and he generates his certificate.”

There are 28,000 to 29,000 cold chain points in the country. He said that the union government has worked on several state governments, including vaccine carriers for cold chains, deep freezers, mobile vans and refrigerators. The governments have worked collectively to decide how many teams will be required at the vaccination centre and how many volunteers will be required to help these teams, along with the norms that these centers have to follow.

The vaccination program may start in January

The minister said that India might begin the vaccination program in January. The first priority of the government is to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Dr Harsh Vardhan said that it is not possible to force the vaccine on anyone. However, the government will provide education and information to people about it. He said, “Vaccine hesitancy issues will be addressed through education. The government will spread awareness and educate people about the vaccine that this is for their own good and benefit.”

Prioritization is based on international trends and guidelines of WHO

The minister said that the government has prioritized who will get the vaccine first based on the international trends and the World Health Organization’s guidelines. Though the government wants to reach a point where everyone is vaccinated, there is a limited number of vaccines. It is important to decide who will get the vaccine first. “Before taking a decision, the government consulted experts, those in the ministries, people in the state governments, and those involved in making vaccines. These decisions have been made while observing international trends and WHO guidelines,” the minister added.

The first to get the vaccine will be health workers and the elderly

The minister said that the government has prioritized 30-crore people to get the vaccine first. The first one crore people to get vaccinated will be health workers in the public and private sector. The next two crores will be frontline workers, sanitation staff, police, and other frontline workers, along with people above the age of 50. He said that majority of the people who lost their lives due to the infection are above 50 years of age. There are around 26 crores such people. Among them, those who have health problems like BP, heart and kidney diseases need to vaccinate on priority.

He further said that no one would be forced to take the vaccine. “The government will reach out to people to get their vaccines but if someone does not want to take the vaccine, they cannot be forced,” he said.

Regulators are examining the permissions sought by pharmaceuticals firms

The minister said that the regulators are examining the permission sought by pharmaceutical firm Pfizer for the emergency authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine. “If a politician speaks on the matter which is in the jurisdiction of experts, it will not be appropriate…perhaps they did not take part in the meeting,” he said. Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech have been asked to submit more safety and efficacy data by The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) earlier this month.

The focus is on developing our own vaccine

The minister said that India is not behind when it comes to developing and researching vaccines against Covid-19. “Our country is moving towards self-reliance and we are not behind any other country in the world in vaccine development and research,” he said. India has the capacity to mass-produce the vaccine, just like anyone in the world.

The worse is over, but people need to be cautious

The minister said that in his views, the worst is over concerning Covid-19 in India. However, people need to follow the precautions to stay safe. “At a personal level, I think that the worst is over concerning the Covid-19 situation. I have been following this situation right from the time when we had our first case on January 30, 2020. Since then, I have watched everything from the closest of quarters with meticulous precision. If we look at the things in the last three-four months then things are in a declining phase,” he said.

3 lakh active cases with 95-96% recovery rate

As of now, there are just over 3 lakh active cases in India. The recovery rate is 95 to 96%, which is notably higher than in many developed countries. A few months ago, there were 10 lakh active cases. Out of close to one crore cases, 95 lakh have already recovered. India is better placed compared to the USA, Russia and Brazil. “Our fatality rate is also significantly low at 1.45% now. I feel the worse may probably be over but with a note of caution,” he added.

Masks, hygiene and physical distancing are the major tools

Vardhan said that major tools against infection are masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing that people need to follow. People have to follow precautions to stay safe. Soon, the vaccine will be in the market, and the government will ensure that it reaches everyone who is willing to get the vaccine.

Current situation of Covid-19 in India

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,  India has reported 1,00,31,223 cases. There are 3,05,344 active cases while 9,580,402 have recovered and 1,45,477 have lost their lives.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans attack Ankita Lokhande for inviting his friend Sandip Ssingh for her birthday bash

OpIndia Staff
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Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans attack Ankita Lokhande for inviting his friend Sandip Ssingh for her birthday bash

Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans have been attacking his ex-girlfriend Ankita Lokhande on social media for inviting his friend Sandip Ssingh for her birthday bash. Ssingh was friend of Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead in his apartment early this year. He has been in news since the actors death. Ssingh was also present at the last rites of Rajput.

Ssingh’s presence at Lokhande’s birthday bash upset Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans who believe there is a foul play involved in the actor’s death. They also accuse Ssingh of being involved in it.

Sushant Singh Rajput fans also said how they no longer are fans of her. The abuses towards her continued. They even accused her of ‘hiding’ and ‘lying’ to the fans.

Ankita celebrated her 36th birthday on Saturday where her friends from the film industry had joined in the celebrations. Actors like Rashami Desai, Aparna Dixit and others were present at the party. Ssingh’s presence particularly upset Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans who were also angry that Ankita seemed to have moved on in her life.

Coronavirus scare: United Kingdom discovers a mutated, more transmissible strain, imposes lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus scare: United Kingdom discovers a mutated, more transmissible strain, imposes lockdown

In a new development, the authorities in the United Kingdom have warned against the emergence of a new strain of the Wuhan Coronavirus.

As per reports, the authorities have conceded that the virus has gone ‘out of control’ in the UK. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control,” informed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The new variant, discovered in September, is said to be 70% more transmissible than its counterpart.

“There is no current evidence to suggest (it) causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is underway to confirm this, “chief medical officer Chris Whitty emphasised. A notification was thus issued by the Public Health England on Friday to the UK government after modelling the said virus strain. The new strain has reportedly been discovered in South Africa, Denmark, Netherlands and Australia.

UK imposes 4 levels of lockdown

In a bid to contain the spread of the new strain of Coronavirus, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced new, four-tier restrictions in London and south-east England. As such, Johnson, who had been insistent on easing Coronavirus guidelines for Christmas, had to do away with his plans. Reportedly, people in tier 4 areas in England can now celebrate Christmas only with their close family members.

Similarly, plans of allowing ‘Christian bubbles’ between December 23-27 has now been re-changed to only December 25. At the same time, a travel ban has been put in place for commuters, willing to travel between Scotland and England, during Christmas. Restrictions, imposed by the UK government, are however subject to the spread of the new strain of Coronavirus.

The Indian Health Ministry has called for an urgent meet of the joint monitoring group on Monday to discuss the new strain found in the UK.

European countries ban flights to and from UK

Last week, Europe surpassed over 5 lac fatalities due to the Coronavirus pandemic since last year. With the new discovery, it has given way to fears surrounding more deaths. On Sunday morning, the Netherlands banned flights from the UK from entering the country. Belgium has called for a 24-hour ban on both flights and trains from Sunday midnight onwards, arriving from the UK, to contain the outbreak of the pandemic.

Similarly, Italy, Germany and Austria have been working on stopping flights coming from Britain. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel have held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked all European nations to strengthen their measures.

Congress mouthpiece columnist speaks the language of Pulwama terrorist, makes cow urine jibe on polio vaccine

OpIndia Staff
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Congress mouthpiece columnist speaks the language of Pulwama terrorist, makes cow urine jibe on polio vaccine

Columnist with Congress mouthpiece National Herald, one Sanjukta Basu on Monday morning made a cow urine jibe while commenting on the polio vaccination.

National Herald columnist Sanjukta Basu’s cow urine jibe

Basu, while making a caustic comment on how India eradicated polio through mass vaccination, mocked it by saying how ‘vaccines’ are ‘anti-national’ and that cow urine was given to eradicate polio. The ‘cow urine’ jibe to mock Indians, especially Hindus, has been used by radical Islamists and terrorists like the Pulwama terrorist. Pulwama terrorist, in his video released after his suicide attack, had vowed to kill all ‘cow urine drinkers’.

Basu has a history of abusive tweets including cow-urine jibes.

Upon UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s father’s demise, Basu had mocked and questioned why don’t BJP leaders resort to drinking cow urine instead of taking modern medicines.

She also uses cow urine jibe to mock Hindus.

And some more.

A self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi fan-girl, Basu had earlier floated conspiracy theory that Pulwama terror attack was an inside job by India.

Meet Chen Weihua: China’s sh*t talker-in-chief, calls Trump-aide Pompeo ‘sh*t face’ after calling a US Senator ‘lifetime b*tch’

OpIndia Staff
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Meet Chen Weihua: China’s sh*t talker-in-chief, calls Trump-aide Pompeo ‘sh*t face’ after calling a US Senator ‘lifetime b*tch’

“Chen Weihua is the Chief Washington Correspondent of China Daily and Deputy Editor of China Daily USA,” says the China Daily website. But on Twitter, the ‘journalist’ who is claimed to have “a particular focus on US politics and US-China relations”, can be found engaging in cantankerous banter with politicians in the West.

The tweets which drove him to media spotlight were the ones where he called a US Senator a ‘b*tch’. He did not stop at that and proceeded to call her a ‘lifetime b*tch’. That outburst was in response to a tweet by Senator Marsha Blackburn claiming that China had a 5000 year history of cheating and stealing.

But those are not the only contentious remarks Chen Weihua has made. On Sunday, he told British politician Nigel Farage to “Wear a mask and stop talking shit”.

Chen Weihua goes off at Nigel Farage
Chen Weihua goes off at Nigel Farage

He did not stop there, of course. He proceeded to mock Farage’s support for US President Donald Trump.

Chen Weihua vs Nigel farage
He was kind enough to retweet his own tweet for his audience

Chen Weihua does not hesitate to use expletives to demonstrate his angst.

Chen Weihua gets abusive
The ‘journalist’ gets abusive

Chen Weihua also declared that something was wrong with the United States because an “insane and stupid lunatic” like Donald Trump could be elected President.

Chen Weihua calls Donald Trump a "stupid lunatic"
Chen Weihua calls Donald Trump a “stupid lunatic”

The ‘journalist’ certainly has a lot to say about the US political system. An object of his ire is the supposed “shameless self-glorification” that is apparently a ‘unique’ feature of the US Presidency.

Chen Weihua is clearly not fond of the US political system
Again, there’s the trademark self-retweet.

He also has a suggestion for American politicians. This one is fair enough, one could argue. “US should spend more fixing its subways, street potholes in NYC and other cities instead of spending hundreds of billion dollars on killer weapons, nukes enough to carpet bomb our planet 100 times and over,” he says.

Chen Weihua has a suggestion for American politicians
The Chinese ‘journalist’ has a suggestion for American politicians

The Chinese ‘journalist’ is also not very fond of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Chen Weihua does not like Mike Pompeo

Okay, he really really does not like Mike Pompeo. Weihua has gone to the extent of calling Pompeo a ‘sh*t face’.

Chen Weihua gets abusive, again.
Weihua gets abusive, again.

Not the only time either, unfortunately.

Chen Weihua abuses Pompeo, again.
Weihua abuses Pompeo, again.

Chen Weihua has also compared Pompeo to the Nazi propagandist Goebbels.

Chen Weihua calls Pompeo a Nazi
Probably not as shocking, given a lot of US liberals believe Donald Trump is LITERALLY a Nazi.

He also says that Donald Trump cannot keep his eyes off China “simply because China is too successful”.

Chen Weihua vs Donald Trump
Probably one of his less offensive tweets

The tensions between China and the USA have intensified under US President Donald Trump. The Chinese have singularly blamed Trump for the tensions between the two countries and appear to believe that things will get better once he moves out of office. However, if their ‘journalists’ keep calling everyone they don’t like ‘sh*t face’ and ‘b*tch’, they might find it a tad more difficult in normalizing relationships with other countries.

Despite baseless allegations about ‘abolishment of MSP’, govt continues purchase of crops, 49% of total paddy purchase made from Punjab alone

OpIndia Staff
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Despite baseless allegations about ‘abolishment of MSP’, govt continues purchase of crops, 49% of total paddy purchase made from Punjab alone

While farmers from Punjab allege that the new farm laws will end the MSP regime, the union government has continued purchase of farm products paying the Minimum Support Price declared by it. As part of the same, during the Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21, the government of India purchased various crops like paddy, cotton, pulses, oilseeds, cotton etc from farmers across the country, benefiting crores of farmers.

Despite the protests in Punjab, paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 season has been going on smoothly in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, 412.91 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT) of paddy were procured as on 19th December, compared to 337.74 LMT in last year. Thus, paddy procurement under MSP has gone up by 22.25% this year despite the Coronavirus pandemic and the so-called farmer protests.

Out of the procurements of 412.91 LMT in India this year, procurement from Punjab alone was 202.77 LMT. Which means almost half of the total procurement, 49.10% to be exact, was made from Punjab.

Around 48.56 lakh farmers have benefited from the procurement at MSP totalling around Rs. 77957.83 Crore.

Apart from that, 51 lakh matric tonnes of pulses have bee procured from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). Sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of Copra for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given.

Approvals for purchase of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under Price Support Scheme (PSS) are being given to other states after receipt of proposals. Purchase of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market prices of those crops go below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective states and UTs.

Upto 19.12.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 1,95,899.38 Metric Tonnes of Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soybean having MSP value of Rs. 1050.08 Crores benefitting 1,08,310 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan.

Similarly, 5,089 MT of copra with MSP value of Rs.52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it may be noted that copra purchase last year was only 293.34 MT.

During the season, 57,83,122 bales of seed cotton valued at Rs. 16,865.81 Crore has been procured benefitting 11,24,252 farmers. Cotton purchases have been made at Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka.

Congress instigating farmers by peddling blatant lie that MSP will be abolished

It almost becomes imperative to note here that opposition parties, especially the Congress has been consistently misleading the farmers in Punjab by sharing some blatant and outright lies against the new farmer laws. Amongst other things, the Congress has been instigating the farmers that the central government, through its news farm laws, would abolish the Minimum Support Price (MSP). Which is an outright lie as seen by recent procurement of Kharif crops as per MSP.

The farmers have been, in turn, agitating at the outskirts of the national capital against Modi government’s farm laws assuming that the new laws mean that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) would be abolished.

Mandis will remain, MSP will be unaffected: Modi government

The central government has clarified a number of times that they are neither abolishing Mandis not repealing MSPs. Both the claims are lies. In fact, the Congress, in its own 2019 election manifesto, had promised to abolish the APMC Act altogether. However, the Modi government has only amended the APMC Act.

Modi government has not repealed the APMC Act in its entirety. The new laws passed by the current dispensation provides the farmers with an additional avenue to sell their produce besides the state-run Mandis. The provisions in the bills exempt transactions done outside the physical premises of APMC (agricultural produce market committee) Mandis from any “market fee or cess or levy” imposed by state governments.

PM Modi, government ministers and BJP leaders have asserted again and again that MSPs will continue. Rahul Gandhi and Congress, however, have been peddling the same lies again and again.

Ahead of Bengal elections, Amit Shah lays down chronology for CAA and coronavirus vaccine

OpIndia Staff
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Ahead of Bengal elections, Amit Shah lays down chronology for CAA and coronavirus vaccine

Rules of Citizenship Amendment Act will be formulated but only when the coronavirus vaccine immunisation plans are in motion, Home Minister Amit Shah today clarified. He was addressing a press conference in Birbhum, West Bengal.

Responding to a media query after his roadshow in Bolpur, West Bengal, Shah said that the rules for CAA are yet to be formulated but they had to be put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic. “Such a large-scale exercise could not be undertaken because of coronavirus and hence once the vaccination process starts, we will get back to formulating rules on CAA,” he said.

Addressing the political violence in Bengal, Shah said that through this press conference he would like to let the TMC leadership know that by attacking and inflicting violence on BJP workers in Bengal, the BJP will not step back. “BJP workers have decided that they will fight violence with democracy,” he said.

Speaking on the misrule of communist government in Bengal, he said, “Bengal had a chunk of 1/3rd of India’s entire GDP when India got independence. Today, it has reduced to minimalistic levels after three decades of Communist rule and 1 decade of TMC rule. Bengal’s per person income was nearly double of Maharashtra’s in 1960. Today, it is not even half of India’s business capital! Who’s responsible for this?”

He further pointed out how in the 1950s, about 70% of pharmaceuticals production was carried out in Bengal. However, the same has now fallen down to 7%. He also said how the jute industry in Bengal has shrunk.

Speaking on FDI investment in Bengal, Amit Shah said how it has fallen so low (1% since 2011) that it cannot go any lower. “TMC govt can count that as an achievement.”

Speaking on how the West Bengal state government is depriving the farmers of central government benefits, he said, “23 lakh farmers from Bengal have requested online for PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi. Mamata di still prevents them by not giving them actual certification! She is not even sending a list of farmers to the Central government.”

Muslims worry whether Covid-19 vaccines are halal as they may contain pork products

OpIndia Staff
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Muslims worry whether Covid-19 vaccines are halal as they may contain pork products

There are concerns among Muslim countries around the world regarding Coronavirus vaccines as pork-derived gelatin is widely used as a stabilizer in vaccines to ensure that they remain safe and effective during storage and transport, Associated Press has reported.

Spokespersons for Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca have said that pork products are not an ingredient of their Coronavirus vaccines. But circumstances are such, as a consequence of million dollar pre-existing deals and limited supply, that certain Muslim countries such as Indonesia will receive vaccines that are not yet certified to be gelatin free.

Aversion towards vaccines by the Muslim community due to their being ‘haram’ or containing pork products is not a new phenomenon. In 2018, the Indonesian Ulema Council, the highest clerical body in the country that issues halal certificates, declared that measles and rubella vaccines were “haram” because of the pork-derived gelatin.

The result? “Measles cases subsequently spiked, giving Indonesia the third-highest rate of measles in the world,” said Rachel Howard of Research Partnership. “Public communication regarding the halal status, price, quality and distribution must be well-prepared,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo had said in October.

Sinovac Biotech, one of the Chinese manufacturers of the Coronavirus vaccines, and other Chinese companies Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics refused to respond to AP’s queries about the ingredients of their vaccines. They already secured deals worth millions with Muslim countries around the world. Pakistan is conducting clinical trials of the CanSino Biologics vaccine, the trials are in late stage.

But there is still debate among Islamic scholars regarding whether a vaccine containing a pork-derived product could be halal after all. “There’s a difference of opinion amongst Islamic scholars as to whether you take something like pork gelatin and make it undergo a rigorous chemical transformation,” Dr. Salman Waqar, general secretary at the British Islamic Medical Association, said. “Is that still considered to be religiously impure for you to take?”

As we had reported earlier, the highest Muslim body in Indonesia is expected to issue a halal certificate for the experimental Coronavirus vaccine developed by China based Sinovac Biotech. The Indonesian Ulema Council Halal Product Guarantee Agency and Institute for the Assessment of Food, Drugs and Cosmetics had completed its study and a fatwa and halal certification is expected soon, Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy had told the media.

‘Non-Muslims can never get justice in Pakistan’, says father of minor Christian girl abducted for rape and conversion to Islam

OpIndia Staff
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‘Non-Muslims can never get justice in Pakistan’, says father of minor Christian girl abducted for rape and conversion to Islam

On Sunday, Pakistani Human rights activist Rahat Austin shared a video on Twitter, wherein the father of a 13-year-old minor Christian girl narrated his ordeal. According to him, the girl identified as Mehwish was forcefully abducted, raped and converted to Islam by Sajid Ali, Sumaira and Tarav in Thokar Nayaz, Kanjrah Lahore. “Police have investigated the matter. After examining the documents, the cops said that the papers are forged. Despite this, no action has been taken till now. We will know after they take action,” said the father of the victim. He informed that the documents made by the accused, following the girl’s marriage and forceful conversion, are fake.

On being asked whether he sought help from any political leaders, the man lamented, “Initially, we tried to meet Minister Jahaz Alam Ghasti on two occasions but failed. However, we met him later on 3 different occasions. He said that he cannot do anything about it… If Prime Minister, Ministers, Chief Justice and Parliamentarians do not listen to me or ensure the safe return of my child, then, I will be forced to kill my entire family.”

“It is impossible to get justice in Pakistan. Justice will only be rendered when my daughter returns back to me. Do not take my words lightly. If my daughter does not come back, then, I will do what I have promised,” the victim’s father remarked.

Persecution of religious Minorities

Movement for Solidarity and Peace (MSP) has estimated that about 1000 Christian and Hindu women between 12 and 25 years are abducted, raped, married, and forced to convert to Islam. Due to limited financial means of the families of such victims, many cases go unreported.

On October 10 last year, another 14-year-old Huma Younus was abducted from her parents’ home in Karachi by a Muslim man named Abdul Jabbar, a resident of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab. Farzana (14), and Sehrish (16) were gang-raped by 3 Muslim men but the families were forced to settle the matter outside the Court. In the case of Sana John (13) and Mehwish (14) who were abducted by Muslims, the police conducted a botched investigation and no attempts were made to rescue them. A 11-year-old Christian girl named Maria Sarfraz was also gang-raped for 3 days but was forced to settle the matter outside. In April 2020, 14-year-old Christian girl Myra Shehbaz was abducted in Faislabad in Pakistan by Muhammad Naqash and his accomplice while she was travelling to her workplace.

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