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School poisonings, if deliberate, deserve death: Iran leader

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(Last Updated On: March 6, 2023)

Iran’s supreme leader said on Monday that if a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools are proven to be deliberate the culprits should be sentenced to death for committing an “unforgivable crime.”

It was the first time Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state, has spoken publicly about the suspected poisonings, which began late last year and have led to hundreds of children falling ill, Associated Press reported.

Iranian officials only acknowledged the poisonings in recent weeks and have provided no details on who may be behind the attacks or what chemicals – if any – have been used. Iran has no history of religious extremists targeting women’s education.

“If the poisoning of students is proven, those behind this crime should be sentenced to capital punishment and there will be no amnesty for them,” Khamenei said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Authorities have acknowledged suspected attacks at more than 50 schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces since November.

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said over the weekend that “suspicious samples” had been gathered by investigators, without elaborating. He called on the public to remain calm and accused unnamed enemies of inciting fear to undermine the Islamic Republic.

Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings, while Iranian media reports have put the number of schools at over 60. At least one boy’s school reportedly has been affected.

Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media, AP reported.

Iran has imposed stringent restrictions on independent media since the outbreak of nationwide protests in September, making it difficult to determine the nature and scope of the suspected poisonings.

On Monday, Iranian media reported that authorities arrested a Qom-based journalist, Ali Pourtabatabaei, who had been regularly reporting on the suspected poisonings.

The children affected in the poisonings have reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.

Reports suggest at least 400 schoolchildren have fallen ill since November. Vahidi, the interior minister, said in his statement that two girls remain in hospital because of underlying chronic conditions. There have been no reported fatalities.

As more attacks were reported Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining about pain in the legs, abdomen and dizziness. State media have mainly referred to these as “hysteric reactions.”

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Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan fears arrest as he heads to court

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(Last Updated On: March 18, 2023)

Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan said on Saturday he expected to be arrested as he headed to court on graft charges, after days of legal wrangling and pitched battles between his supporters and police.

The 70-year-old former cricket star has been tangled in a slew of court cases, a frequent hazard for opposition figures in Pakistan’s mudslinging politics, AFP reported.

“I am going to the Islamabad court right now. I want to tell you all that they have made a plan to arrest me,” he said in a video message from the motorway, claiming he was the target of a plot to stop him from standing in elections due by October.

“The point of their attack on my house was not to present me before the Islamabad court. The purpose was to put me in jail.”

Khan was ousted in a no-confidence motion last year and has been pressuring the fragile coalition government which replaced him to hold early elections.

Earlier this week Khan’s supporters fought pitched battles with police sent to arrest him in the eastern city of Lahore after he failed to appear in court, citing security concerns.

Authorities were later stood down after a flurry of court hearings and Khan’s promise to appear in the capital on Saturday.

Some 4,000 security officials including elite police commandos, anti-terrorism squads and paramilitary rangers have been deployed around Islamabad with hospitals put on high alert, AFP reported.

Police meanwhile raided his house in a plush Lahore neighbourhood after blocking nearby roads and suspending mobile services in the area.

The case has been brought by the Election Commission of Pakistan which has accused Khan of not declaring gifts received during his time as premier, or the profit made from selling them.

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Fire kills 10 members of family in Pakistan

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(Last Updated On: March 17, 2023)

At least 10 people, including children and women, were killed and three injured in a fire incident early Friday morning in the Seri area of Pattan, the district headquarters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Kohistan, Dawn reported. 

Lower Kohistan Rescue 1122 spokesperson, Farman Ali, said that the fire erupted in a wooden house due to an electric short circuit in the early hours of Friday when the residents were asleep.

As a result, the house’s roof collapsed, leading to the deaths of 10 family members and leaving three others injured. Ali further said that until the residents woke up, the entire house had been engulfed in fire.

The rescue official said that as it was dark when rescue efforts were underway, and they faced difficulties in retrieving the bodies and the injured.

“However, their bodies have been recovered and the three injured have been shifted to Pattan’s Rural Health Centre,” Ali added.

He further said that eight buffalos also perished in the incident as the fire was on a “huge scale” and locals had taken part in the rescue efforts as well.

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Balkh

IEA forces in Balkh told to be in uniform during house-to-house searches

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(Last Updated On: March 17, 2023)

Balkh’s acting governor, Mawlavi Mohammad Yusuf Wafa said in a meeting on Thursday with district governors and police commanders that no security officers or Mujahid would be allowed to search houses while wearing plain clothes.

Wafa also discussed problems with the district governors and police chiefs of the province.

He said Balkh was an important province in Afghanistan, and that the recently slain governor, Shahid Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, had done a good job.

He urged the officials “to follow the seniors, fulfill their responsibilities correctly, and provide services to the people in an honest manner”.

Mawlavi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, the governor of Balkh province, was killed in an explosion at the governor’s compound last Thursday.

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