AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof saved his governing coalition on Friday despite threats of an exodus by cabinet members over the right-wing government’s response to violence against Israeli soccer fans last week.
Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans in Amsterdam around the Nov. 7 match between Dutch side Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Her resignation triggered a crisis cabinet meeting at which four ministers from her centrist NSC party also threatened to quit. If they had, the coalition would have lost its majority in parliament.
“We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said at a news conference late on Friday in The Hague.
Last week’s violence was roundly condemned by Israeli and Dutch politicians, with Amsterdam’s mayor saying “antisemitic hit-and-run squads” had attacked Israeli fans.
The city’s police department has said Maccabi fans were chased and beaten by gangs on scooters. Police also said the Israeli fans attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag.
Achahbar, a former judge and public prosecutor who was born in Morocco, felt comments by several political figures were hurtful and possibly racist, De Volkskrant daily reported.
“Polarization in the recent weeks has had such an effect on me that I no longer can, nor wish to fulfil my position in this cabinet,” Achahbar said in a statement.
Schoof, a former civil servant who does not have a party affiliation, denied any ministers in the cabinet are racist. Details of the cabinet discussion were not disclosed.
The coalition is led by the anti-Muslim populist party PVV of Geert Wilders, which came top in a general election a year ago. The government was installed in July after months of tense negotiations.
Wilders, who is not a cabinet member, has repeatedly said Dutch youth of Moroccan descent were the main attackers of the Israeli fans, although police have not specified the backgrounds of suspects.
Schoof said on Monday the incidents showed that some youth in the Netherlands with immigrant backgrounds did not share “Dutch core values.”
Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
https://arab.news/jg6w4
Dutch government survives dispute over Amsterdam violence
- Junior Finance Minister Nora Achahbar unexpectedly quit the cabinet on Friday to protest claims by some politicians that Dutch youths of Moroccan descent attacked Israeli fans
- “We have reached the conclusion that we want to remain, as a cabinet for all people in the Netherlands,” Schoof said
Pakistan PM visits Quetta to meet Balochistan leadership, inaugurate development projects
- Shehbaz Sharif is to be briefed by the provincial governor on the current situation in Balochistan
- He will inaugurate sections of the N-25 highway and the Danish Schools project in the province
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, where he is scheduled to meet the provincial leadership of Balochistan and inaugurate development projects during his daylong visit, according to an official statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, has long faced militant violence linked to a separatist insurgency, although there has been a decline in such incidents in recent months following intelligence-based operations by security forces.
The improved situation has also been acknowledged by local think tanks and research organizations, with some linking the decline in militant attacks to Pakistan’s decision to shut its border with Afghanistan after skirmishes in October last year.
Pakistani authorities have frequently accused Afghan officials of sheltering militant factions and facilitating cross-border attacks, an allegation denied by Kabul.
"Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Quetta on a one-day visit," said a statement circulated by his office. "He was received by Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti and members of parliament on his arrival."
"A one-on-one meeting between the prime minister and the governor of Balochistan will be held at the Governor House in Quetta," it added. "Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail will brief the prime minister on ongoing development projects in the province and the latest situation."
Sharif will also have a meeting with the chief minister and members of the provincial cabinet before inaugurating sections of the N-25 Karachi-to-Chaman highway and the Danish Schools project.
The N-25 highway is a key transport artery linking Balochistan with Pakistan’s commercial hub Karachi, while Danish Schools are part of a federal initiative aimed at providing quality education to students from underprivileged backgrounds.
