JAMADA ALTHANI 12, 1440 AH SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2019 28 Pages Max 21º Min 09º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17761 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait security chief holds series Last-minute Nigeria poll Swiss actor Ganz who played Uruguay’s Indian cricketers 28of meetings at Munich conference delay disappoints voters 22 Hitler in ‘Downfall’ dies at 77 26 search for permanent home Indebted Kuwaitis call on Amir to cancel their loans Debtors gather in Irada Square to highlight their plight By Nawara Fattahova KUWAIT: Around 400 people gathered in Irada Kuwait against Square opposite the National Assembly yesterday to call upon HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber normalization of Al-Sabah to cancel their loans. The gathering was organized by attorney Yousef Al-Gharabally through his account on Twitter. He said the gathering was held to ties with Israel deliver a message to the Amir to cancel the loans of over KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister 400,000 Kuwaitis. In a previous statement, Executive Khaled Al-Jarallah on Friday affirmed that the stance Director of the supervision sector at the Central Bank of Kuwait is clearly and firmly opposed to normal- Waleed Al-Awadhi, had said there are 429,000 Kuwaiti ization of relations with Israel. “Kuwait will be the debtors, who represent 90 percent of the workforce last country to normalize relations with Israel,” he under the age of 50. said, noting “anybody would be mistaken if they Gharabally mentioned different articles of the Kuwait imagine that the group picture taken at the Warsaw constitution that set the rights of every citizen. “Under conference signals a change in Kuwait’s firm stand article 23 of the constitution, the government has failed on this issue”. to control violations by banks. Both the Central Bank “Kuwait took part in the Warsaw peace and secu- and ministry of commerce have neglected their supervi- rity conference under a joint invitation from the sion duties. Also, article 25 speaks about crises and dis- United States and Poland, with which Kuwait has asters, based on which the late Amir Sheikh Jaber can- close relations and has allied itself in some issues. celed all loans after the Iraqi invasion. Our present situ- Besides, the issues on the agenda of the conference ation is considered a crisis, as there are over 400,000 had to do with the future of security and peace in the debtors,” he noted. “Kuwaiti families are suffering Middle East, of which we are a part,” Jarallah said greatly from the loans. The debtors want to send a mes- in response to speculations on social media. sage neither to the parliament nor the Cabinet, but to “It would be illogical that these topics, including HH the Amir to save Kuwaiti families, saying ‘you are the the Palestine question and the developments of the Amir of Humanity’,” Gharabally added. Middle East peace process, are discussed in our Some Kuwaitis are living in poor conditions, accord- absence. ing to the attendees. “I only receive KD 260 out of my KUWAIT: People sign a banner urging HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to cancel their loans dur- Continued on Page 24 salary every month - the bank deducts KD 300 for the Continued on Page 24 ing a gathering in Irada Square opposite the National Assembly yesterday. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh (See Page 3) north, after the bodies were flown to New Delhi late India mourns Friday where Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid a wreath. India has accused Pakistan of harboring the militants behind the attack, which has sparked nation- soldiers amid wide outrage and some public calls for war against the nuclear-armed archrival to avenge the killings. calls for revenge Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since independence from Britain in 1947, with both the countries, NEW DELHI: Thousands of mourners across India which have fought three wars, claiming it in its entirety. attended funerals yesterday for some of the 41 soldiers Two buses of the Central Reserve Police Force killed in a suicide bombing in Indian-administered (CRPF) in the 78-vehicle convoy were targeted by the Kashmir as a round-the-clock curfew remained in force bomber on a key highway in the Pulwama district, just in part of the restive region. The paramilitary troops outside the main city of Srinagar. The Pakistan-based were killed on Thursday as explosives packed in a van Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed ripped through a convoy transporting 2,500 soldiers in responsibility, and the vehicle was driven by a known the disputed Himalayan region, the deadliest attack in a local militant named Aadil Ahmad, alias Waqas three-decade-old armed conflict. Commando. The powerful blast reduced one of the bus- TV stations showed coffins wrapped in Indian flags es to a heap of mangled debris. Pictures showed bodies being carried by thousands of people across their and body parts strewn all over the highway. JABALPUR, India: Mourners gather to attend the funeral of Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper hometowns, such as Gaya in the east and Unnao in the Continued on Page 24 Ashwini Kumar Kacchi yesterday. — AFP counter such acts,” Jafari told mourners Iranians cry gathered at the city of Isfahan’s Trump border wall Bozorgmehr Square. The comments by Jafari, commander ‘emergency’ faces for revenge at of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, came a day ahead of a planned two-day guards’ funeral visit to Pakistan by Mohammed bin tough legal hurdles Salman, the crown prince of Iran’s ISFAHAN: Tens of thousands of Iranians regional archrival Saudi Arabia. Jafari called for “revenge” yesterday at the blamed Pakistan’s army and Inter- funeral of 27 Revolutionary Guards killed Services Intelligence agency, saying that in a suicide attack perpetrated by mili- “sheltering and silence” amounts to sup- tants that Tehran accuses Pakistan of porting the perpetrators. As he left the supporting. “The government of Pakistan podium, people shouted “Commander of must pay the price of harboring these Sepah (Farsi for Revolutionary Guards) - terrorist groups and this price will Revenge! Revenge!”. undoubtedly be very high,” said Major The Wednesday bombing targeted a General Mohammad Ali Jafari, referring busload of Revolutionary Guards in the to jihadist outfit Jaish al-Adl (“Army of volatile southeastern province of Sistan- NEW YORK: People affiliated with the protest group Justice”). “The Islamic Republic of Iran Baluchistan, which straddles the border Rise and Resist block the street in front of Trump will no longer observe the previous with Pakistan. ISFAHAN, Iran: Mourners gather around the coffins of slain Revolutionary Guards International Hotel on Friday. — AFP reservations and will directly act to Continued on Page 24 during their funeral yesterday. — AFP WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s declaration of an emergency Friday to build a bor- Friday from New Delhi to the Hindu holy der wall immediately drew legal challenges that India’s fastest city of Varanasi. But on its return to the could easily escalate into a landmark test of the bal- capital the next day a collision with a ance of power between the White House and cow disrupted electricity supply to four Congress. Legal experts said it was “unprecedent- new train hits carriages and damaged the brake sys- ed” for a president to use his emergency powers to tem, according to Indian Railways. overcome Congress’s refusal to fund his wishes, in cattle hurdle “The train later experienced technical this case a barrier on the US-Mexican border to issues and was stranded on the way to keep out illegal immigrants. They also questioned NEW DELHI: India’s first semi-high Delhi,” Indian Railways spokeswoman Trump’s categorization of the immigration issue as a speed train broke down yesterday after Smita Vats Sharma told AFP. The train national emergency and his tapping military funds colliding with a cow on the tracks, a day reached the capital “safely” ahead of its for a non-military project. after Prime Minister Narendra Modi first commercial journey on Sunday, she Hours after the announcement, the Trump admin- inaugurated the new passenger service. added. Cattle obstructions on roads and istration faced an investigation by the House The Vande Bharat Express, touted as rail tracks are common in India, particu- NEW DELHI: In this photo taken on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Judiciary committee and lawsuits from India’s fastest train and built under the larly in Uttar Pradesh state where yes- flags off India’s first semi-high speed express train Vande Bharat Express at New Continued on Page 24 Modi government’s flagship “Make in terday’s collision happened. India” program, made its first journey Continued on Page 24 Delhi Railway Station. — AFP 2 Local Sunday, February 17, 2019 Kuwait presents statement on search for missing citizens in Iraq Security Council applauds efforts to resolve outstanding issues NEW YORK: Kuwait presented a presidential statement efforts to achieve stability. Moreover, it welcomed Iraq’s that all appropriate institutional, financial and technical on the search for missing Kuwaitis and third-country efforts to fulfill all remaining obligations in accordance support is made available to facilitate future activities. It nationals, including Kuwait’s stolen properties in Iraq with relevant Security Council resolutions. also encouraged the international community to provide during the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) session. The Meanwhile, the UNSC welcomed the ongoing coop- the necessary advanced and innovative technical equip- statement was presented by Kuwait’s permanent mission ment to Iraqi authorities to assist in identifying burial to the UN late Friday.