What does India's new citizenship law mean?

A new Indian law that grants citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled Muslim-majority Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan prior to 2015 has led to violent demonstrations.

Indian President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the citizenship bill late on Thursday, signing it into law, an official statement said.

Clearance of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill triggered widespread protests in eastern state of Assam, as protesters said it would convert thousands of illegal immigrants into legal residents.

Muslims also protested against the law as it does not give them the same rights to citizenship as members of other faiths, a move critics say undermines the secular constitution.

Passage of the bill was a key election promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, re-energising his nationalist, Hindu support base.

How did the bill secure parliament's support?

Modi had promised that his party would grant citizenship to the six communities who according to the government have historically faced persecution on grounds of religion in the three Muslim-dominated countries. Lawmakers belonging to his party voted in favour of the bill.

What do critics say?

They accuse Modi's government of drafting rules to favour its hardline Hindu agenda aimed at disturbing permanent settlements belonging to Muslims.

Who does the law leave out?

Opposition parties say the law is discriminatory as it singles out Muslims, who make up nearly 15 per cent of the population. The government says that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are Muslim-majority countries, so Muslims cannot be treated as persecuted minorities.

Who could suffer?

Rights organisations say Modi-supporting lawmakers have cleared the bill to justify the deportation of thousands of Muslims living in the northeastern state of Assam and unable to provide documents to prove Indian citizenship.

What are the discrepancies?

The law does not clarify why minority migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are favoured over those fleeing Sri Lanka and Myanmar from where minority Muslims have sought refuge in India.

What's next?

The law has been challenged in India's Supreme Court by a Muslim political party, lawyers and rights groups on the grounds that it violates the secular constitution.

More than 500 eminent Indian jurists, lawyers, academics and actors have signed a statement condemning the legislation.

India's divisive protests could help Modi's party in New Delhi election test

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party face their first electoral test this week since deadly anti-government protests erupted nearly two months ago, with the divisive turmoil likely to win them votes at polls in the capital.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a bigger majority in a general election in May, but it has lost a string of state elections since then.

The protests, in which at least 25 people have been killed, erupted across the country in mid-December, after the BJP passed a new citizenship law critics say violates India's secular constitution and discriminates against minority Muslims.

Chinese public mourns, rages over death of doctor who raised early alarm on coronavirus

A Chinese doctor who issued an early warning about the coronavirus outbreak before it was officially recognised died of the virus on Friday, triggering a wave of public mourning and rare expressions of anger towards the government online.

Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the outbreak, became one of the most visible figures in the crisis after he publicly revealed that he was one of eight people reprimanded by Wuhan police last month for "spreading rumours" about the coronavirus.

News of Li's death became the top top-read topic on China's microblogging site Weibo overnight on Friday, with over 1.5 billion views, and was also heavily discussed in private WeChat messaging groups, where people expressed outrage and sadness.

Some Chinese media outlets described him as a "hero who was willing to speak the truth" while other commentators posted poems, photos and drawings saluting him.

Twist in Imran Farooq killing case as lawyer says suspect wasn’t deported

ISLAMABAD: A British lawyer assisting the Pakistani government in the Dr Imran Farooq murder case on Thursday ‘disowned’ part of the testimony of a prosecution witness regarding deportation of a suspect, Mohsin Ali, saying the British Home Office had all the record of the suspect’s entry and exit and that he had never been deported to Pakistan by the British authorities.

British lawyer Toby Cadman argued before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Islamabad that the information of Sheikh Moinuddin, a prosecution witness of the UK police, regarding Mohsin’s deportation was based on hearsay.

A day earlier, Moinuddin, while testifying before ATC judge Shahrukh Arjumand, said that a lady officer of the UK police had informed him that Mohsin had been deported to Pakistan.

On Thursday, Mr Cadman informed the court that the Home Office of the United Kingdom had the entire record of Mohsin’s entry and exit from the UK. He said that the UK police never took the suspect into custody and he left the country on his own.

No new taxes, FBR tells IMF as govt tries to dispel talk of a ‘mini-budget’

ISLAMABAD: At the conclusion of its performance review with the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation, top officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have denied all talk of a “mini-budget” to bridge the shortfall in revenue collection posted in the first two quarters of this fiscal year.

“We have mostly met our second quarter targets” official sources told Dawn, but added two problematic areas — taxation and electricity — where the focus of the talks lay.

But official sources said that during these meetings there was no discussion of any mini-budget. “There is nothing like new taxes at the moment”, they said, adding the rumours are based on hearsay. The talks so far have only focused on a review of the previous quarter’s performance, they told Dawn.

The policy talks, in which benchmarks for the next quarter will be set, have not begun yet so talk of a “mini budget” is premature. They claim that the Fund has given a “satisfactory” review of FBR’s performance despite missing the revenue target by Rs105bn in the second quarter of this fiscal year.

Karachi man arrested after video goes viral of him 'beating' daughter

Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested a man who allegedly beat his daughter, after a video of the incident went viral on social media, prompting higher authorities to take its notice.

A police spokesperson said that Sindh Inspector General of Police Dr Syed Kaleem Imam had taken notice of the video that went viral in which the father was seen beating his daughter "brutally".

The police chief directed the central senior superintendent of police (SSP) to take notice of the case.

Acting on his directions, the district Central police arrested the suspect and initiated legal proceedings against him, according to Central SSP Arif Aslam Rao.

'Irresponsible rhetoric' by Indian leadership will have regional implications, warns army leadership

Army's top brass, during a Corps Commanders' meeting on Thursday, denounced "provocative statements" by the Indian leadership, warning that such "irresponsible rhetoric [will have] implications for the region".

The Corps Commanders' meeting was held at the military's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi under the chairmanship of Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Corps Commanders agreed that "Pakistan Armed Forces are forces of order and peace and fully prepared to thwart any misadventure, whatever the cost".

Over the past month, India's political and military leadership have issued multiple controversial statements regarding Pakistan. Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed that Indian forces were now capable of making Pakistan "bite the dust" in less than 10 days, during a speech to military personnel. The statement was rebuffed by the Foreign Office as "belligerent rhetoric".

Before that, India's army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane was reported to have said  that the Indian army will move to claim Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) if it is given orders in this regard by the parliament. His statement was dismissed by the Pakistan Army's media wing as "routine rhetoric for domestic audiences to get out of ongoing internal turmoil".

In today's Corps Commanders' meeting The military leadership also discussed the geo-strategic environment "with special focus on internal security and situation on borders". The leadership was briefed on the progress of Operation Radd-ul-Fasad, which has led to an improved security situation and has placed the country "on a positive trajectory for enduring peace and stability", the press release stated.

The forum also discussed the repression of Kashmiris by the Indian forces and the ongoing lockdown of occupied Kashmir. While paying tribute to the residents of the occupied region, Gen Bajwa said: "Repression of Indian occupying forces can never deny Kashmiris their right to self-determination as promised by UN resolutions. Regardless of the ordeal, their just struggle is destined to succeed."