Court reserves order on whether to summon Tharoor in Sunanda death case

Jan 23: Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan called on Wednesday for the United Nations to help mediate between nuclear armed India and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

"This is a potential flashpoint," Khan said during a media briefing at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, adding that it was time for the "international institutions ... specifically set up to stop this" to "come into action".

The Indian government in August revoked the constitutional autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir, splitting the Muslim-majority region into two federal territories in a bid to integrate it fully with the rest of the country.

Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. The two countries have gone to war twice over it, and both rule parts of it. India's portion has been plagued by separatist violence since the late 1980s.

Khan said his biggest fear was how New Delhi would respond to ongoing protests in India over a citizenship law that many feel targets Muslims.

"We're not close to a conflict right now ... What if the protests get worse in India, and to distract attention from that, what if ..."

The prime minister said he had discussed the prospect of war between his country and India in a Tuesday meeting with US President Donald Trump. Trump later said he had offered to help mediate between the two countries.

Khan said Pakistan and the United States were closer in their approach to the Taliban armed rebellion in Afghanistan than they had been for many years. He said he had never seen a military solution to that conflict.

"Finally the position of the US is there should be negotiations and a peace plan."

In a separate on-stage conversation later on Wednesday, Khan said he had told Trump in their meeting that a war with Iran would be "a disaster for the world". Trump had not responded, Khan said.

Khan made some of his most straightforward comments when asked why Pakistan has been muted in defence of Uighurs in China.

China has been widely condemned for setting up complexes in remote Xinjiang province that Beijing describes as "vocational training centres" to stamp out ""extremism and give people new skills.

The United Nations says at least one million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims have been detained.

When pressed on China's policies, Khan said Pakistan's relations with Beijing were too important for him to speak out publicly.

"China has helped us when we were at rock bottom. We are really grateful to the Chinese government, so we have decided that any issues we have had with China we will handle privately."

New Delhi, May 29: In a powerful display of inter community solidarity, a team of Sikh volunteers visited Delhi's Jama Masjid and sanitized the 17th century monument.

As the national capital battled coronavirus, the historic Jama Masjid is closed for congregational prayers. However, the team of Sikh volunteers effectively sanitized the monument to ensure it is safe for the caretakers and visitors.

The volunteers affiliated with United Sikhs organization also met Naib Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Shaban Bukhari during the visit. The latter thanked the team for the humanitarian gesture and underlined the need for all sections of humanity to unite in the face of this crisis.

"The Sikh community has always displayed exemplary commitment to humanity and we are thankful to the United Sikhs' team for their initiative. This enormous crisis facing the human race can be fought off only if all communities, nations and people unite and fight it together. In recent weeks we have seen heart wrenching images of misery in the country as thousands of migrant workers return to their villages. At the same time we have also seen positive stories of different people uniting to help and feed them. We hope that together we will overcome this crisis," said Syed Shaban Bukhari, Naib Shahi Imam, Jama Masjid, Delhi.

Shaban Bukhari has also advised Muslims across the country to strictly avoid congregational prayers this Eid and pray at homes. He is young leader, who really believes in secularism. For him, humanity and kindness come first.