Saudi king's rare address to UN showcases monarch in charge
Dubai: Saudi Arabia's King Salman made a rare address to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, using the moment to highlight the foundational notions of his regime his steadfast commitment to the Palestinians, his stature as custodian of Islam's holiest sites, and his assertion that Iran is responsible for much of the region's instability.
The prerecorded speech to world leaders suggested that the 84-year-old king, who delivers only a handful of public remarks each year, retains oversight of high-level policies despite the immense powers amassed by his son, the crown prince.
In delivering his remarks, he became only the second Saudi king to deliver a speech to the world assembly. The first was his late brother, King Saud, in 1957 at UN headquarters in New York. And like his brother's speech 63 years prior, King Salman noted the sacred role of Islam in Saudi Arabia and the importance that entails.
We in the kingdom, due to our position in the Muslim world, bear a special and historic responsibility to protect our tolerant Islamic faith from attempts by terrorist organizations and extremist groups to pervert it, Salman said.
He emphasized at the top of his speech that he was speaking from the birthplace of Islam, the home of its revelation a reference to the Muslim belief that the word of God was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago in the mountainous caves of Mecca.
Those words carry political undertones as well. Saudi rivals Turkey and Iran also profess to champion Muslim causes worldwide as part of a broader struggle for the leadership of Muslims globally.
The king oversees a nation that is the Arab world's biggest economy and the planet's most prolific oil producer. Saudi Arabia has long been a close US ally in the region and a strategic partner, though some in American politics worry where the relationship will go in coming years given the unpredictability of the brash Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Reading from a piece of paper and seated at a desk under a large portrait of his father, King Abdulaziz, the current monarch reiterated his support for Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite for recognition of Israel.
He said the Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel full ties with Arab states in exchange for concessions that lead to a Palestinian state, provides a basis for resolving the region's longest-running conflict.
That 2002 initiative stands in stark contrast to the White House's Middle East Peace plan, which has been rejected outright by the Palestinians as one-sided in favor of Israel.
The king made no mention of recent deals struck by neighboring United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to formalize ties with Israel. The agreements were brokered by the Trump administration and branded by the Palestinians as acts of betrayal.
Despite the appearance Wednesday that Salman was in control of major policies, there are indications that change is already underway with Israel under the guidance of the crown prince. The divergent messages on the possibility of Saudi ties with Israel reflect what analysts call a generational divide between the world views of the prince and the king.
Salman hails from an era of leadership that holds with high regard to the ideals of pan-Arab and pan-Islamic multilateralism. He was born just four years after his father founded the country by unifying tribes and establishing control over the western Hijaz region, where Mecca is located.
He also witnessed the country's oil-fueled transformation, and as the governor of Riyadh helped to turn the desert capital into a city teeming with skyscrapers, highways, universities, and malls. His reign marks the final chapter of power being passed from brother to brother from among the sons of King Abdelaziz as a new generation prepares for the throne.
The crown prince, on the other hand, reflects a cohort of younger Gulf Arab rulers whose policies prioritize national interests and greater self-reliance. He's pushed for localizing the production of defense equipment, transforming the economy to be less dependent on oil exports, and oversee efforts to supplant a religiously conservative Saudi identity with one rooted in hyper-nationalism.
King Salman has backed his son by elevating him from near obscurity and handing him day-to-day decision-making powers. He's stood by him amid the protracted Yemen war, international fallout from the killing of Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, and as Prince Mohammed moved to crack down on dissidents, businessmen, and sideline more experienced and senior royals in the line of succession.
It's unclear how much the king knows about controversies, such as the November 2017 debacle with then-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whom top Lebanese officials at the time said had been forced to resign and was being held in Saudi Arabia against his will before France's president personally intervened.
What was clear as Salman spoke Wednesday, though, was that his nation's views on nearby Iran remained unwavering. He blamed Iran for targeting Saudi oil facilities with missiles and drones last year, saying: It demonstrated that this regime has total disregard for the stability of the global economy or stability of oil supplies to international markets.
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Ajit Pawar death: ‘Zero FIR’ registered in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): The Bengaluru police have registered a case related to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s death in a plane crash in Baramati on a complaint by his nephew Rohit Pawar, who has alleged that the tragedy was a result of a "larger criminal conspiracy” to eliminate his uncle.
Pawar was killed on January 28 when a Bombardier Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures Private Limited, crashed near Baramati Airport, Pune, Maharashtra.
The aircraft was on a flight from Mumbai to Baramati and was carrying Ajit Pawar and four others on board, who were all killed in the crash.
Based on the complaint, the High Grounds police registered ‘Zero FIR’, which can be registered at any police station, irrespective of where the offence was committed.
“We have registered a zero FIR and transferred it to the Maharashtra police for investigation,” a senior police officer told PTI.
Rohit Pawar said he had previously approached Marine Drive Police Station on February 25 and Baramati Police Station on February 26 without an FIR being registered, “and was subsequently informed by Pune CID that they were examining only the Accidental Death Report angle”.
“The complainant contends that the incident was a result of a larger criminal conspiracy aimed at eliminating the Deputy Chief Minister,” the complaint read.
Rohit claimed that there were “systematic violations” of aviation safety regulations, deliberate falsification of records, gross negligence in maintenance and operations, and a pattern of conduct which led to the incident.
According to him, on February 24, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its safety audit report “declared and admitted” that aircraft of the VSR Company were “negligent, not airworthy” and therefore were grounded as part of the DGCA investigation in the crash of the charter plane.
He alleged that the aircraft VT-SSK was being operated in systematic violation of mandatory safety standards.
At the time of the crash, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 4,915 flight hours, leaving only about 85 hours before the mandatory engine Time Before Overhaul ('TBO') threshold of 5,000 hours was reached, he charged.
“Despite operating dangerously close to this limit, VSR continued to deploy the aircraft for commercial operations, placing the crew and passengers at heightened risk of mechanical malfunction,” said Rohit Pawar.
He suspected that the aircraft may have infact accumulated flight hours in excess of 8,000 hours, far beyond its certified safe operational limits.
“This deliberate suppression and misrepresentation of flight data amounts to falsification of statutory maintenance records and constitutes a serious violation of aviation safety regulations as enumerated in the complaint,” Rohit Pawar said.
He charged that “this pattern of falsification” allowed continued commercial operation of a fundamentally unsafe aircraft.
“The DGCA's certification records for aircraft VT-SSK disclose procedurally anomalous and potentially fabricated documentation. The Airworthiness Certificate for the aircraft was issued on December 16, 2021, while the Aircraft Registration Certificate was only issued on 27th December 2022, a full year later.”
Standard aviation procedure requires that registration precede airworthiness certification.
“This reversal of prescribed sequence suggests either gross administrative failure or deliberate manipulation of records at the DGCA level,” Rohit said.
He also alleged that the Chief Pilot Sumit Kapoor, who commanded the aircraft on the day of the crash, had a documented history of alcohol-related violations, leading to a three-year suspension of his flying privileges by the DGCA.
“The original crew scheduled for the flight, Captain Sahil Madan and Co-pilot Yash, were last-minute replaced by Kapoor and Co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak, purportedly because the original crew was 'stuck in traffic' at 6.30 am. This explanation is implausible given the time of day,” Rohit stated.
Rohit said Ajit Pawar had originally planned to travel to Pune by road on the evening of January 27 with a full motorcade arranged.
“He remained in Mumbai without disclosed reason. The flight itself was delayed by seventy minutes from its original 7 am departure, with no credible explanation provided. The crew initially requested the safer Runway 29 and then, two minutes later, switched to Runway 11, the more dangerous tabletop runway without any apparent operational justification,” Rohit alleged.
In the final recorded seconds of the flight, co-pilot Shambhavi Pathak said something while Kapoor was entirely silent.
This complete absence of response from the commanding pilot in a life-threatening emergency is consistent with either incapacitation due to alcohol or deliberate inaction.
