One dead in shooting at Seattle protest movement

LOS ANGELES: A man was shot dead and another seriously injured in a police-free autonomous zone created by protesters in the US city of Seattle, where officers were prevented from accessing the victims, officials said.

The area, set up as part of the nationwide protest movement following the death of unarmed African American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, has been a frequent target of Donald Trump.

The US president has called it a "disaster" and said people there are anarchists from the "radical left." For nearly two weeks, protesters and activists have occupied the western city´s Capitol Hill neighborhood, establishing an area described as a "no cop” zone — an urban experiment mostly carried out with a festival-like atmosphere.

“Officers attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented officers safe access to the victims,” the Seattle Police Department said in a statement. Police, who arrived at the scene around 2:30 am, were later told that the pair had been transported to the hospital by the zone´s “medics,” where one of the victims, a 19-year-old, was declared dead. The other victim, also a male “remains in the hospital with life-threatening injuries,” the police department said. Police said the shooter or shooters remained at large and that they had no description of a potential suspect. The Seattle Times reported that the shooting was not believed to be connected to the protest. Officers´ body cam footage showed the police being confronted by the protesters who kept them from entering the area. At a rally late Saturday in Oklahoma, Trump referenced the episode again telling supporters: “I have an offer out. I said anytime you want we´ll come in, we´ll straighten it out in one hour or less.” “Now I may be wrong but it´s probably better for us to just watch that disaster,” Trump said. Officials in Seattle have denied reports that left-wing activists are behind the setting up of the autonomous zone.

]|

Prominent religious scholar Mufti Naeem laid to rest

By Our correspondent

KARACHI: Hundreds of people on Sunday attended the funeral of the renowned religious scholar and principal of Jamia Binoria Al-Alamia Mufti Muhamamd Naeem, who died of cardiac arrest on Saturday.

Mufti Taqi Usmani, the renowned religious scholar, led the Naeem’s funeral outside the seminary in SITE. He was buried in a graveyard in the seminary. The funeral was attended by people from different walks of life in a large number despite the fear of the spread of coronavirus panademic.

The Jamaat-e-Islami's central secretary general Liaquat Baloch, JI leaders Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqi, Wifaqul Madaris al Arabia Pakistan’s secretary-general Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s disgruntled leader Dr Farooq Sattar, DMC West chairman Izhar Ahmed Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s MPA Dr. Saeed Afridi, the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl’s Sindh leaders Dr Rashid Soomro and Qari Muhamamd Usman, prominent scholars Dr Adil Khan, Maulana Ubaidullah Khalid, Maulana Hakeem Mazhar, Mufti Muhammad Zubari, and Maulana Tanveerul Haq Thanvi were prominent among those who attended the funeral. They expressed their deep sorrow over the death of the eminent religious scholar and termed his demise an irreparable loss for Pakistan.

Naeem has been suffering from cardiac and respiratory diseases for a long time. Naeem was also a member of the executive committee of Wafaqul Madaris al Arabia– the largest board of Deobandi seminaries in the country. Naeem was born in 1958. His father Qari Abdul Haleem, originally belonged to Surat city of Indian Gujrat, and had converted to Islam from the Parsi faith. Naeem completed his education from Jamia Binori Town seminary in 1979 and then associated with the Jamia Binoria Al-Alamia seminary his father founded.

The theologian was the author of several books and has written dozens of small booklets on various topics. He was known for his moderate views on religion. Naeem had supported the anti-polio campaign in the country when polio workers were coming under attack. He was one of the 31 signatories of the religious decree that declared suicide attacks, insurgency against a state, and use of force to impose Shariah as “haram”. The fatwa had also endorsed the military operations, including Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad, in the country. Karamat Ali, Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research has expressed grief on Naeem’s death. Ali lauded the efforts of late Mufti Naeem for creating sectarian harmony in the country. He said late Mufti had played a positive role in creating awareness about Polio vaccination. “Pakistani society needed such forward-looking religious scholars, who play their role in eliminating social evils in the society.”