Pakistan’s government has ordered a nationwide lockdown from May 8-16 during the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday — traditionally a peak time for travel and shopping — to curb the spread of the Chinese coronavirus amid a surge in cases across the country.
A spokesman for the Taliban announced Sunday night the group ordered its forces to pause offensive operations for the three days of Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
The Supreme leader of Afghan terror group the Taliban may have recently died from the coronavirus, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported on Tuesday, citing information from a report by the American magazine Foreign Policy.
Pakistan’s government said it may be forced to reinstate a coronavirus lockdown amid a surge in new cases following the end of the Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday on Sunday, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Riyadh — Saudi Arabia will end its nationwide coronavirus curfew from June 21, except in the holy city of Mecca, the interior ministry said Tuesday, after more than two months of stringent curbs.
Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday issued a statement that he will respond to a ceasefire “gesture of goodwill” from the Taliban by expediting the release of 2,000 Taliban prisoners.
Reports from across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia this weekend described Muslims ignoring coronavirus lockdown bans on large gatherings to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Ramadan holiday season, usually celebrated in a highly social manner.
The Ministry of the Interior of Saudi Arabia on Friday announced a 24-hour coronavirus lockdown and nationwide curfew for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which is scheduled for May 23 to 27 in the kingdom.
In his address for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada – supreme leader of the Taliban as well as one of its top clerics – promised equal rights for men and women under fundamentalist Taliban rule after the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan. He also offered a general amnesty to the Taliban’s enemies, provided they “end their opposition” to the “establishment of an Islamic government.”
Saudi Arabia will maintain a national curfew the during the five-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which begins in a little more than a week, state media said Wednesday.
The Vatican’s office for interreligious dialogue released a message to the world Muslim community Friday, extending fervent best wishes for a “fruitful month of Ramadan.”
The Afghan government confirmed this week that it released 490 Taliban prisoners and is expected to release hundreds more to convince the narco-jihadi organization to engage in peace negotiations with Kabul.
Predominantly Sunni jihadi groups carried out 187 terrorist attacks across nearly 30 countries on Ramadan this year, driving the number of fatalities up to 911 and injuries to 1,006 when compared to the casualties during the holiest month for Muslims in 2018, a Breitbart News database analysis shows.
The Afghan Taliban on Friday rejected reports that they had agreed to a repeat of last year’s unprecedented three-day ceasefire in honor of the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, noting the audio message about the truce is related to last year’s cessation of hostilities.
China’s predominantly Muslim Uighur minority will spend the 2018 Eid al-Fitr holiday season fleeing persecution in Xinjiang province and calling attention to the plight of their families back home.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the United States is a failure and referred to the nation, as he has for decades, as the “Great Satan” during his annual Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran on Friday morning.
The Afghan government may get to enjoy an unprecedented respite from the nearly 17-year-old war if the Taliban honors its three-day ceasefire that started Friday in honor of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli police say bomb disposal units have detonated an explosive device attached to a balloon fired from Gaza that floated on to a highway.
Hamas on Thursday threatened to send 5,000 fire kites and balloons deep into Israeli territory on Friday, when the Gaza border will see another of the weekly “March of Return” mass protests, Palestinian and Israeli media reported.
