Recent Appearances...

Hello !
Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Imran Khan

Al-Ansaar news agency

Terror Networks

20030213

Government Corruption

Karen Bass ripped after viral video lays out taxpayer-funded match of campaign donations

2026-08-20

[FoxNews] Los Angeles' super match program has been in effect since 1990, and the 6-to-1 ratio took effect in 2019

Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing scrutiny after an online ad revealed that campaign contributions from supporters of her re-election bid would be matched by taxpayer dollars.

"Your donation to our campaign right now is more critical than ever before," said Bass, speaking into a lapel microphone with upbeat music playing in the background of the ad, which was posted to her campaign's X account.

"Let me explain," she continued. "Thanks to LA's super match program, every qualified donation from Los Angeles residents is matched 6-to-1 by the city. But after the primary, we had to start over from scratch, so we need you to rush your matching donation right now to help fuel this campaign."

Bass noted that chipping in $5 would equate to a $35 total donation, while $25 would become $175.

The explanation immediately raised eyebrows for those concerned that taxpayer dollars are being used as campaign contributions.

"It's a system they set up to enrich themselves and their friends and get themselves elected," Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, told Fox News Digital in response to Bass' video.

"It's like when you're a kid, and the kid with the fancy ball gets to make all the rules of the game you're about to play. That's what this is."

But the system is perfectly legal.

"It's much like when people complain about election fraud in California. It's not fraud. Everything is codified just the way they like it," said Hoge.

"Almost none of the money that Los Angeles takes in is used for things that make sense," she continued. "Money goes to homelessness and it increases homelessness. Basically, nothing makes sense here, and this is another thing that doesn't make sense."

Bass' campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Still, critics raged online about a program that has been in use for mayoral candidates since the 1990s.

"This is grotesque," author and University of Austin professor Michael Shellenberger said in response to the video of Bass.

"Outrageous," quipped Richard Grenell, a Trump administration official.

…from whom we don’t hear nearly enough…

"Hold your horses... The current Mayor of the City of LA, who is running for reelection, is allowed to take money from the city to fund her campaign at a 6 to 1 payout???" former Ronald Reagan official David McIntosh asked incredulously.

Link

Britain

Pakistan Offers to Take Back Rochdale Rapist if UK Deports Munir Critics

2026-07-11

[KhaamaPress] Pakistain has linked the return of a convicted Rochdale child sex offender to Britannia’s extradition of several UK-based Pak critics.

Pakistain has linked the possible return of a convicted Rochdale child sex offender to Britannia’s extradition of several Pak dissidents and political critics living in the United Kingdom, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that the proposal emerged during discussions over the possible deportation of Shabir Ahmed, a convicted ringleader in the Rochdale child sexual abuse case, citing Pak officials familiar with the negotiations. Drop Site News also reported on the discussions.

Ahmed, known to some victims as "Daddy," was convicted in 2012 of multiple child sexual offences, including rape, and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Although he later lost his British citizenship, The Telegraph reported that existing UK immigration laws have prevented his deportation because of legal protections available to certain long-term Commonwealth residents.

According to the report, Pak officials indicated they would consider accepting Ahmed’s return if Britannia addressed Islamabad’s longstanding extradition requests involving several Paks living in the UK.

Those reportedly include Shahzad Akbar, a former adviser to former Prime Minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders...
, retired military officer and commentator Adil Raja, and the increasingly enormous Altaf Hussain

>... The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in safety and comfort in London and hasn't laid eyes on his purported homeland since about the time Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him, he may be a Hutt...>
, the London-based founder of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
(MQM).

A senior Pak official quoted by The Telegraph said Britannia should "respect the issues that matter" to Pakistain rather than expect Islamabad to accept deportations unconditionally. The official also accused the UK of applying double standards by refusing to extradite individuals Pakistain considers to be anti-state activists while seeking the return of convicted offenders.

British and Pak officials have reportedly discussed Ahmed’s possible deportation for nearly a year. According to the reports, the British government has also examined possible legislative changes that could remove legal barriers to deporting offenders in similar cases.

The reports also said British officials had considered possible visa restrictions and reductions in aid if Pakistain refused to cooperate, although no such measures have been announced.

The Rochdale child sexual exploitation scandal led to the conviction of several men in 2012 for offences involving the grooming and abuse of teenage girls in northern England. The case prompted widespread scrutiny of policing, child protection failures and immigration law, particularly regarding the deportation of foreign-born offenders convicted of serious crimes.

Pakistain and the United Kingdom do not have a comprehensive extradition treaty, and requests involving political figures have frequently become the subject of legal and diplomatic disputes. British courts generally assess extradition requests under domestic law and international human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
obligations.

Link

India-Pakistan

Genocide Watch Issues Alert for a Possible Genocide in Pakistan

2026-05-31

[PJMedia] The human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
violations in Pakistain have reached such an alarming rate that the organization Genocide Watch has called for genocide monitoring in Pakistain.

Genocide Watch issued a report on May 8, which stated that Pakistain is now at stage 3 of genocide (discrimination), stage 5 (organization), stage 6 (polarization), and stage 9 (persecution) in terms of abuses against women, religious minorities, and other vulnerable groups. Persecution is the final stage before extermination.

According to the organization, the perpetrators include the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
Party, the State Police, and bully boy groups (Pak Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
/TTP, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
/LeJ), amongst others.

Targeted groups are religious minorities (Shia, Ahmadiyya, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus), political opposition, women, and gays.

Genocide Watch reported:

Because discrimination against women and minorities is deeply embedded in society, and violence against them is both widespread and tolerated, Genocide Watch considers Pakistain to be at Stage 3: Discrimination and Stage 5: Organization. Deepening divisions along religious, gender, and political lines, reinforced by restrictive laws, censorship, and weak protections, place the country at Stage 6: Polarization. The continued targeting of vulnerable groups through violence, persecution, and displacement further reflects elements of Stage 9: Persecution.

Gregory H Stanton, President of Genocide Watch, developed the 10 stages of genocide, which explain the process that leads to genocide. They are classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, and denial.

These stages refer to the developments or circumstances that cause, incite, or bring about the deliberate destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

Women remain the most severely abused group in the country, according to the report:

Women face the most severe consequences of Pakistain’s structural inequalities in the form of a growing femicide crisis. Gender-based violence remains widespread and includes acid attacks, forced and child marriage, rape, trafficking, forced conversion, and domestic abuse. Hundreds of women are killed annually in so-called "honor killings," often by relatives, over perceived family shame. At least 405 cases were recorded in 2024, but the real figures are likely higher, due to low reporting and weak, inconsistent enforcement. Also in 2024, over 2,000 domestic violence cases and 5,000 accounts of rape were recorded, reinforcing Pakistain’s status as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women.

Additionally, in September 2025, the Lahore High Court ruled that marriages after puberty are valid under Islamic law, as girl marriage remains widespread in Pakistain, with millions married before 18.

Pakistain also ranked last in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, and it faces a massive education crisis, with more than 21 million children reportedly out of school due to poverty, social pressures, child labor, and discrimination.

Religious minorities also remain deeply vulnerable. Blasphemy laws, combined with weak enforcement, expose Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus to discrimination, violence, and social exclusion.

Non-Moslems in Pakistain survive in a tyrannical environment. Christians comprise just 1.8% of the population and are particularly marginalized. 96% of the population is Moslem, of which the majority follow the Sunni tradition.

As a minority in Pakistain, Christians are exposed to many challenges, which range from everyday discrimination to threats of deadly violence.

On May 27, EWTN News reported that the son of a Pak Christian man was murdered by a mob over blasphemy
...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...
allegations in 2024. His family says that they have received neither compensation nor justice:

As Moslems across Pakistain celebrate Eid al-Adha
...a major Moslem holiday, marked by animal sacrifice and ritual rioting...
, Sultan Gill is quietly preparing for the death anniversary of his father, who died after a ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful mob attack over allegations of blasphemy in 2024.

"Nearly 2,000 people attacked Gillʼs family in Sargodha, in northern Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
....
province, on May 25, 2024, after allegations emerged that his father, Nazir (Lazar) Masih, had desecrated pages of the Koran. EWTN News covered the attack at the time.

The mob ransacked the familyʼs home and shoe factory in Mujahid Colony and later set the business on fire after a mosque announcement reportedly amplified the accusations.

Police managed to evacuate nine members of the family, but Masih was caught by the crowd and beaten with stones, bricks, and sticks. The 74-year-old departed this vale of tears on the night of June 2—3, 2024.

Nearly two years later, the family says it is still waiting for justice and compensation for the destruction of their property, which remains abandoned after they fled Sargodha.

'Our wounds became fresh during Eid. The cruelty cannot be described in words,' Gill told EWTN News.

'The confidence is gone. We cannot move around or talk freely. Two of my children had to discontinue their education and start working to support the family in a new city and help pay house rent,' he said.

Masih and his family are not the only victims. Pakistain’s blasphemy laws are increasingly used to intimidate Christians and other religious minorities. The laws are often exploited to target Christians during unrelated feuds (such as land disputes). Even an accusation can provoke mob violence against victims, their families, and the wider Christian community — just like what happened to Masih's family in 2024.

Religious freedom in the country further deteriorated in 2025 for minority groups, with Hindus, Shi’a and Ahmadi Moslems continuing to experience prosecutions for blasphemy whilst also suffering violence at the hands of mobs as well as the police.

At the same time, journalists, activists, and academics face censorship, violence, threats, arrests, and murder, all perpetrated by the Pak government and contributing to growing self-censorship and restricted public discourse, reports Genocide Watch.

Security challenges further complicate Pakistain’s human rights, as deadly attacks were carried out by holy warrior groups in 2025 and 2026, including Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Khorasan Province, al-Qaeda, and the Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Liberation Army.

Regional instability leads to the worsening of human rights conditions... Escalating fighting between Pakistain and Afghanistan has caused serious human rights violations. In 2024, Pakistain deported 315,100 undocumented Afghan refugees, with thousands arrested amid harassment and coercion.

The report added that homosexual individuals and transgender individuals are also at a heightened risk of police abuse, discrimination, and violence.

"Genocide never just happens," says Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT). "There is always a set of circumstances which occur or which are created to build the climate in which genocide can take place."

The circumstances under which women, religious minorities, political dissidents and other vulnerable communities demonstrate that a genocide is likely to occur in Pakistain if precautions are not taken by the international community.

In its report, Genocide Watch shares recommendations for preventing the plight of these communities from worsening.

The organization recommends that the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
should use GSP+ review procedures to press Pakistain on narrowly implemented reforms in freedom of expression, religious freedom, and women’s rights. The United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
High Commissioner for Human Rights should campaign to consider Pakistain a country of special concern because of the country’s concerning record of human rights abuses against ethnic and religious minorities. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom should urge and incentivize the country to combat honor killings and implement structural and systemic changes that would protect the lives and futures of women.

Link

India-Pakistan

12 terrorists killed in KP, Balochistan operations

2025-12-29

[Dawn]
• ISPR says four terrorists eliminated in Karak
• Another eight killed in Lakki police action
• Peace committee member injured in attack
• Officials told to be on their guard amid threats from banned groups

At least 12 bad boyz were potted and several others injured in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) carried out by security forces in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.

The military’s media wing said that security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Kalat district, killing four terrorists.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was carried out the previous day following intelligence reports about the presence of murderous Moslems affiliated with Fitna al Hindustan — the term the state uses for Balochistan-based separatist groups.

During the operation, security forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored bad boyz were potted, the ISPR said in the statement.

It added that weapons and ammunition were seized from the dead terrorists, who had been actively involved in terrorist activity in the area.

"Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area. [The] relentless counter-terrorism campaign under [the] vision "Azm-e-Istehkam" (as approved by [the] Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistain will continue at full pace to wipe out [the] menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country," the ISPR stated.

The operation came a day after the ISPR reported that four murderous Moslems from the Fitna al Khawarij — a term used to describe the Tehrik-e-Taliban
Taliban

...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
Pakistain (TTP) — had been killed in an IBO in Balochistan’s Panjgur district.

KARAK OPERATION
Separately, Karak police front man Shaukat Khan told Dawn that eight bad boyz were potted and several of their accomplices injured during an IBO in Karak district. He said police moved to the area after receiving credible intelligence about the presence of murderous Moslems in the mountainous terrain of Banda Daud Shah tehsil.

"During the operation, led by Karak District Police Officer Saud Khan, the law enforcement personnel eliminated eight murderous Moslems in an intense exchange of fire and destroyed their hideouts in the difficult mountainous terrain," he said, adding that Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) commandos, backed by intelligence operatives, assisted police in effectively engaging the terrorists.

The official added that the murderous Moslems attempted to take away the bodies of their slain accomplices, but the police effectively engaged them, resulting in an exchange of fire that lasted several hours.

PEACE BODY MEMBER INJURED
Separately, in Lakki Marwat, a member of a peace committee was injured when murderous Moslems attacked his house in the Abbasa Khattak area late Saturday night.

District police front man Qudratullah confirmed the attack, saying a group of murderous Moslems fired rockets launchers at the house of Hamayun, a key member of the local peace body.

As a result of the attack, Hamayun sustained injuries, while other residents of the house remained unhurt. Local police, with the help of armed residents and volunteers of the peace body, returned fire and forced the assailants to flee.

The murderous Moslems also fired at the Abbasa police post before fleeing towards the mountainous border area with Karak district. Despite his injuries, Hamayun, along with other peace committee volunteers, is expected to assist police in operations against murderous Moslems in the area.

The attack followed a successful operation in the Takhti Khel area of Lakki Marwat district, where police claimed to have killed six terrorists, including a commander identified as Nusratullah Wazir.

Link

India-Pakistan

Pakistan sentences former PM Imran Khan, wife, to 17 years in graft case

2025-12-22

[IsraelTimes] A Pak court convicts and sentences imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders...
and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after finding them guilty of retaining and selling state gifts, officials and his party say.

The couple pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
when they were indicted last year. They were accused of selling the gifts, including jewelry from Saudi Arabia

…so he’ll be 90 when they open the jailhouse doors and let him walk free…

was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, and his party is in opposition in the parliament. He has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on corruption convictions and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career.

Link

India-Pakistan

US presses Pakistan to join Gaza force, testing powerful military chief’s authority at home

2025-12-17

Pakistan would first have to give up their beloved war with Israel — that Israel doesn’t notice — but even considering it will get the government leadership killed, so sure. Just as long as they never actually get to the point of boots on thr grounf.

[IsraelTimes] Field Marshal Munir is expected to discuss stabilization force with Trump in coming weeks, with Pakistani participation likely to trigger domestic backlash among Islamists

Pakistain’s most powerful military chief in decades faces the toughest test of his newly amassed powers as Washington pushes Islamabad to contribute troops to the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
stabilization force, a move analysts say could spark domestic backlash.

Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to fly to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
in the coming weeks for a third meeting in six months that will likely focus on the Gaza force, two sources told Rooters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy.

Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan calls for an international force to oversee a transition period for reconstruction and economic recovery in the war-torn Paleostinian territory, decimated by over two years of war.

Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on October 10, with Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
releasing hostages and Israel freeing detained Paleostinians.

Israel fears Washington may push to advance to the next phase of the ceasefire even if the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage held in Gaza, is not returned, and before a clear operational plan is established for Hamas’s disarmament, the Ynet news site reported last week.

Many countries are wary of the mission to demilitarize Gaza’s Hamas terror group, which could drag them into the conflict and enrage their pro-Paleostinian and anti-Israeli populations.

But Munir has built a close relationship with the mercurial Trump to repair years of mistrust between Washington and Islamabad. In June, he was rewarded with a White House lunch — the first time a US president hosted Pakistain’s army chief alone, without civilian officials.

"Not contributing (to the Gaza stabilization force) could annoy Trump, which is no small matter for a Pak state that appears quite keen to remain in his good graces — in great part to secure US investment and security aid," said Michael Kugelman, Senior Fellow, South Asia at Washington-based Atlantic Council.

’PRESSURE TO DELIVER’
Pakistain, the world’s only Moslem country with nuclear weapons, has a battle-hardened military having gone to war with arch-rival India three times, as well as a brief conflict this summer.

It has also tackled insurgencies in its far-flung regions and is currently embroiled in a bruising war with Islamist forces of Evil who it says are operating from Afghanistan.

Pakistain’s military strength means "there is a greater pressure on Munir to deliver his capacity," said author and defense analyst Ayesha Siddiqa.

Pakistain’s military, foreign office, and information ministry did not respond to questions from Rooters. The White House also did not respond to a request for a comment.

Pak Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said last month that Islamabad could consider contributing troops for peacekeeping, but disarming Hamas "is not our job."

UNPRECEDENTED POWER
Earlier this month, Munir was anointed chief of the defense forces to head the air force and navy as well, with a job extension until 2030.

He will retain his field marshal title forever, as well as enjoy lifetime immunity from any criminal prosecution under the constitutional amendments that Pakistain’s civilian government pushed through parliament late last month.

"Few people in Pakistain enjoy the luxury of being able to take risks more than Munir. He has unbridled power, now constitutionally protected," Kugelman added.

"Ultimately, it will be Munir’s rules, and his rules only."

THE HOME FRONT RISK

Over the past few weeks, Munir has met military and civilian leaders from countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia

...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
, ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
member, but not the most reliable...
, Jordan, Egypt, and Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, according to the military’s statements, which Siddiqa said appeared to be consultations on the Gaza force.

But the big concern at home is that the involvement of Pak troops in Gaza under a US-backed plan could re-ignite protests from Pakistain’s Islamist parties that are deeply opposed to the US and Israel.

The Islamists have street power to mobilize thousands.

A powerful and ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful anti-Israel Islamist party that fights for upholding Pakistain’s ultra-strict blasphemy
...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...
laws was banned in October. Authorities arrested its leaders and over 1,500 supporters and seized its assets and bank accounts in an ongoing crackdown, officials said.

While Islamabad has outlawed the group, its ideology is still alive.

The party of former tossed in the clink
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
premier Imran Khan'>Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who anti-establishment Pak premier, who was hounded out of office, arrested, jailed, and will likely be hung by his political opponents...
, whose supporters won the most seats in the 2024 national elections and which has wide public support, also has an axe to grind against Munir.

Abdul Basit, Senior Associate Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said if things escalated once the Gaza force was on the ground, it would cause problems quickly.

"People will say ’Asim Munir is doing Israel’s bidding’ — it will be foolhardy of anyone not to see it coming."

Link

India-Pakistan

Pakistan's military sentences its former spy chief to 14 years in jail

2025-12-11

[BBC] Pakistan's former spy chief has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a military court, on charges including violation of state secrets and interfering in politics.

Faiz Hameed led Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency from 2019 to 2021, during the tenure of now-jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.

He was known to be a staunch supporter of Khan, and took early retirement shortly after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022.

It is the first time that an ISI chief in Pakistan has been court martialled. His lawyer said he plans to appeal against the verdict.

The ISI chief is seen as the second most powerful position in Pakistan's military.

According to a press release issued by the public relations arm of Pakistani military (ISPR), the 15-month-long court martial proceeding began on August 12, 2024, under the Pakistan Army Act.

Hameed was tried on four charges, including "involvement in political activities, violation of the Official Secrets Act which harmed the interest of the state, misuse of his powers and government resources, and causing harm to citizens".

The ISPR statement added that Hameed had been given "the right to have a defence team of his choice" and that he has the right to appeal the decision in the "appropriate forum", which would be the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The exact details of the case are not public as the hearing was held behind closed doors in a military court.

The statement says that Hameed's alleged involvement in fomenting political agitation and instability is being dealt with separately.

This is assumed to be regarding allegations that Hameed was tied to protests against Imran Khan's arrest on 9 May 2023.

Hameed's lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq, said his client was "1,000% innocent, but this is the court's decision".

"We were unaware of the judgement and only found out through the ISPR's press release. We are now applying to the relevant forum for a copy of the decision," he told the BBC.

"As soon as we receive it, we will review it and immediately file a petition to appeal. Right now, the first forum for appeal is the army chief, so that is what we will do. We are hopeful that at the next forum we will present our case and obtain justice."

Link

India-Pakistan

KP CM Sohail Afridi booked under Peca over statements against state institutions

2025-11-10

[GEO.TV] A case has been registered against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi under the Pakistain Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) after his videos circulated on social media allegedly tarnishing the reputation of state and national security institutions.

The First Information Report (FIR), a copy of which is available to Geo News, was lodged at the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad, with a sub-inspector from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) listed as the complainant.

The legal action comes after Afridi gave a media talk outside Adiala jail in which he reportedly made "false, misleading, derogatory, and intimidating" remarks against state institutions.

Videos of the remarks were also circulated via the official social media page of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI), the ruling party in KP.

The FIR stated that the accused "is also found to be involved in preparing, publishing, sharing, and circulating fake and misleading content publicly on social media with the intention to incite violence, create racial hatred, panic, fear, and disorder among the general public, along with promoting anti-state sentiments, which are detrimental to the security, integrity, and stability of Pakistain."

Link

Bangladesh

'No Future for Our Youth' Say Despairing Christians in Bangladesh After Deadly Unrest

2025-10-29

[PJMedia] The gang rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl from the indigenous Marma community in Bangladesh's Khagrachhari town led to mass protests that began on the night of September 23. The unrest between indigenous tribes, Bengali Moslem settlers, and the military continued for days in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

According to reports from the region, the girl was raped while returning home from a private tutoring session. Her parents reportedly found her unconscious in a field that night. Police, with army assistance, arrested one suspect: Shayon Shil. But demonstrations continued as protesters demanded the arrest of two other suspects who are believed to have participated in the crime.

At least three people were reportedly rubbed out by Bangladeshi security forces during the protests and dozens were maimed. Protests led to the traffic being suspended on several roads and additional forces being deployed in Khagrachari. Additionally, the Bangladeshi army was also deployed in the region.

Protesters from the Marma and Mog communities said that the homes of people from indigenous communities of the region were burned.

According to the Christian Daily International, as ethnic unrest intensifies, Christian leaders say fear and uncertainty is spreading among the country’s religious minorities because they feel increasingly vulnerable amid the wider political instability that has led to a breakdown of trust in state protection.

According to a press statement issued by the Jumma Chhatra Janata (JCJ), an indigenous student organization, armed settlers and military forces attacked demonstrators in Guimara Upazila (a subdistrict), resulting in what the group described as the "Guimara massacre."

The statement identified three people killed in the violence whom the police later confirmed were Teiching Marma, 20, Aukhrau Marma, 22, and Athuipru Marma, 21.

The student organization also documented the destruction of several vehicles, houses, and shops which belong to indigenous residents. Local reports indicated that nearly 50 homes and 40 shops were torched during the unrest.

Nila Pada Chakma, coordinator of the Bangladesh Bible Society, told Christian Daily International that five Christians on their way to church were assaulted by the army. "They had to be hospitalized for their injuries," he said. "All Christians were released from the hospital and are back home."

Chakma noted that the attackers showed no regard for either religion or ethnicity. "Their targets were the indigenous people. It did not matter whether they were Buddhist, Hindu or Christian," he added. "Whose house was being burnt and who was being attacked did not matter to them."

The Christian Conference of Asia condemned the deadly festivities and urged the Bangladeshi government to guarantee the safety and protection of ethnic and religious minorities. The organization noted that homes, businesses, and places of worship which belonged to indigenous minority communities were targeted during the attacks.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) also issued a statement expressing strong outrage over the events in Khagrachhari, saying that vested interests had turned a peaceful protest seeking justice for the rape of a 12-year-old girl into widespread violence. The group questioned why the army-controlled administration has failed to prevent the unrest. TIB called for a comprehensive judicial investigation, the exemplary punishment of the perpetrators, and accountability for those who instigated the unrest.

The situation in the hill districts remains tense, with prohibitory orders still in effect and security forces maintaining heavy patrols across the region.

Meanwhile at the 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (held from September 8 to October 8), multiple speakers raised concerns over escalating attacks on ethnic and religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Suhas Chakma, director of the New Delhi—based Rights and Risks Analysis Group, told the Council that it was the Bangladesh Army that indiscriminately opened fire on those protesters demanding justice for the September 23 rape case, killing three indigenous people and injuring dozens more.

At the same session, rights advocates also cited broader data showing that Bangladesh witnessed 637 mob lynching deaths, the targeting of 878 journalists, 2,485 acts of violence against religious minorities, and criminal cases filed against more than 500,000 political opponents last year.

Charlotte Zehrer, a UN—EU Human Rights Officer with Global Human Rights Defense, reported more than 2,400 incidents of violence against minorities within the past year. She noted that indigenous peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (along with Hindu and Christian communities across the country) have been among the primary targets.

On August 5, 2024, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister ~~the loathesome~~ Sheikh Hasina
...Bangla dynastic politician and now exiled former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She was President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia showed such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums. That is probably because Khaleda's late husband was the Pak tool who had Mujib assassinated...
fled the country following mass uprisings against her government. She held the post since 2009 and won the most recent parliamentary elections in January 2024. An interim government led by economist Muhammad Yunus now governs the country.

The protests and overthrow of PM Hasina are part of a longer-term trend in Bangladeshi politics which represents the weakening of the secular model that marked the nation's founding, as well as a resurgence in radical Islam and the persecution against minorities.

Though the July 2024 protests were largely started by student groups angry about job quota systems, the violence quickly spilled over and targeted religious minorities. Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, the country's main Islamist party, strongly supported the uprising. The terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) described it as a "significant victory for Islamists and jihadists in the region." Homes were burned (including house churches), and some Christians were driven underground. Radical Islamic groups such as Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
have since expanded their influence. They have used the chaos in the country to attack religious minority communities.

The human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
organization, Open Doors, reported that as part of the unrest during that period, there was an increase in the number of churches and other Christian institutions that were attacked, mainly by members of local Moslem communities. Reports came in from all over Bangladesh. For example, at least 12 ethnic Bawm Christians were killed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The 2025 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)'s Bangladesh factsheet elaborates on the attacks against indigenous groups in Chittagong Hill Tracts:

Indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts also continue to report attacks since the July 2024 uprising. In September and October 2024, for example, a spate of attacks between Buddhist-majority indigenous groups and Bengali Moslem settlers resulted in the targeting of religious sites and the killing of at least four people. Buddhist temples were reportedly vandalized and looted, with inaction from security forces. Subsequently, a Buddhist monastic association announced it would not hold an annual month-long religious festival at Buddhist temples, citing fears of insecurity.

Radical Islamic groups, specifically Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
... The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s, which remains obscure and probably defunct today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
(JMB), Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefajat-e-Islam, and Ahle Sunnat, are implicated in attacks against religious minorities. Their influence in national politics is growing, and the Jamaat-e-Islami party (previously banned under anti-terrorism laws during the August unrest) had its ban lifted by Yunus' caretaker government, allowing it to re-enter the political arena.

The ousting of Hasina’s government has ushered in a period of uncertainty in Bangladesh. Islamist groups have exploited the power vacuum, and concerns about governance and minority rights have deepened. The interim government led by Yunus has appointed Islamist lawyers linked to Jamaat to court positions. The government has also ordered the release of Jashimuddin Rahmani, who leads a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda. What is evident is that the democratic norms are eroding in Bangladesh.

The country is currently going through a so-called "constitutional reform process."

According to the USCIRF:

The extent to which religious minority communities have been involved in the reform process remains unclear. Many religious minority communities have expressed that they have not been included or consulted in the reform process and that minority groups are underrepresented in politics and state agencies. For example, within the whole cabinet under the interim government, only one member is a Hindu and one is a member of the Buddhist community from the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bangladesh’s indigenous community members, many of whom live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, have called for constitutional recognition.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella grabbed the cocoanut cream...
Islamist networks tied to global jihadist movements, including al-Qaeda, continue to inspire fear, particularly in rural areas, where Christian converts face severe restrictions. Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella grabbed the cocoanut cream...
the rise of Rohingya murderous Moslem activity along the Myanmar border, including ARSA’s (the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) involvement in ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful crimes, has exacerbated tensions.

Religious minorities, including Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists, remain vulnerable amid these dynamics. Reports of mob violence, forced conversions, and vandalism of places of worship are widespread, often fueled by radical Islamic propaganda.

The 2025 Annual Report of the USCIRF also pointed out to an "increase in attacks against Hindu communities and temples:

Religious freedom conditions in Bangladesh declined amid a series of attacks against religious minority communities," the report said.

In November, police charged a Hindu priest, Chinmoy Krishna Das, with sedition charges for denigrating Bangladesh’s flag while demonstrating for the protection of Hindus... The same month, an estimated 30,000 Hindus gathered demanding government protection from attacks and harassment.

Leaders of religious minority communities continue to say that the government frequently uses laws such as the Digital Security Act (DSA) to target members of religious minority groups, particularly Hindus, for "hurting the religious sentiments" of Moslem populations. In almost all cases, courts take harsher measures against members of religious minorities for posting allegedly derogatory content on Facebook than against the perpetrators of retaliatory violence.

Open Doors stresses that Islamic radical groups and their ideology are now growing in influence in Bangladesh and the army's anti-insurgency campaign in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area is a reminder that Christians are at risk from a variety of persecution, in which communal tensions, the government's "divide-and-rule" tactics and underlying contests for control of land all combine to make Christians vulnerable.

For many Christians in Bangladesh, the violence in Khagrachhari has thus reinforced a sense of fear and abandonment shared across the country’s minority communities. Church leaders say the attacks, coupled with years of unaddressed discrimination and political volatility, have deepened feelings of isolation and uncertainty about the future.

"We are very hopeless with the present situation of the country," Martha Das from the National Christian Fellowship of Bangladesh (NCFB) told Christian Daily International. "Our Christian youth are perplexed; there seems to be no future for them in this country. Everything is uncertain and we will have to wait and see what happens in the February 2026 elections."

Link

India-Pakistan

Provincial information minister, Azma Bukhari, has stated that the TLP has threatened her with sexual assault and murder

2025-10-20

[X]

🟥The situation in Pakistan is unstable. The provincial information minister, Azma Bukhari, has stated that the TLP has threatened her with sexual assault and murder.#AfghanistanAndPakistan #AfghanistanPakistanWar #Taliban #BREAKING #SalaamShuhadaEKarsaz… pic.twitter.com/EozC2xo6QE
— Afghanistan Times (@TimesAFg1) October 19, 2025

Link

Afghanistan

'Specific Relationships': Why the Taliban Attacked Pakistan

2025-10-14

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Savin

[REGNUM] On the night of October 12, heavy fighting began on the Afghan-Pakistani border, involving tanks, artillery, and aircraft.

According to official Pakistani reports, “on the night of October 11-12, the Afghan Taliban and the Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan along the Afghan-Pakistan border.”

Just before the clashes, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi visited India, and on Sunday, Indian aircraft appeared near the Pakistani border, forcing Islamabad to scramble its own combat aircraft.

The conflict left 23 Pakistani soldiers killed and 29 wounded. Pakistan says more than 200 Taliban and affiliated organizations have been killed.

Which means that the real number is something between one and 199…

However, it's important to remember that each side is simultaneously waging an information war, interpreting the facts to their advantage. For example, on the night of the conflict, Afghan news sites published photos of a convoy of "jihadmobiles"

…American Humvees, left behind when President Biden ordered the Army to pull out so precipitously after the Taliban conquered Kabul…

heading to the battlefield, and even reported that a Taliban plane had struck Lahore. This was blatant disinformation.

Moreover, photo and video evidence confirms that the main strongholds on the Afghan side were suppressed by massive Pakistani army fire, and the border posts were subsequently recaptured. In total, the Pakistanis captured 21 fortified positions on Afghan territory, all of which were used in the night attack.

Afghanistan, in turn, says the attack was a response to Pakistani strikes on its territory that took place on Thursday.

Islamabad counters: the strikes were aimed only at training camps for terrorists who subsequently infiltrate Pakistani territory.

Yes, but the Afghan Taliban are protecting the TTP, and no doubt there’s been a good deal of intermarriage as well, just as they’ve been doing with Al Qaeda. As a result, they’re taking Pakistan’s bombs personally.

Pakistani forces have previously carried out similar attacks, which angered the Taliban. Apparently, this time they decided to try to respond with force, which led to the escalation.

The Taliban also stated that they halted the attacks at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, not due to losses. However, as a result of the clash, Pakistan took control of a 2,600-kilometer border, partially penetrating into Afghan territory. All checkpoints were closed.

To clarify the reasons for the outbreak of conflict, it is necessary to conduct a retrospective analysis, since the problem of relations between the two countries is quite old and skirmishes could very well break out again or even escalate into a full-fledged war.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have always been quite peculiar. From 1979 to the early 1990s, Pakistan served as a staging base for mujahideen rebels opposing the Soviet-backed government.

After the Taliban came to power, giving shelter to the top leaders of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda (recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia), and the start of their civil war with the Northern Alliance, Islamabad began to support the Taliban.

But due to US intervention and the occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan was forced to follow Washington's lead, and the Taliban's attitude towards it changed.

Furthermore, Pakistan developed its own Taliban branch, operating primarily in northern Balochistan and the northwestern borderlands, which were renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province under Prime Minister Imran Khan. Most of the indigenous population there are ethnic Pashtuns, who form the core of the Afghan Taliban.

It's worth noting that the border between the two countries is a result of British occupation, not a natural demarcation based on tribal areas. The so-called Durand Line runs directly through settlements in several places, and the Afghan side has never recognized it as a full-fledged state border.

The Pakistani Taliban opposes the country's government, effectively promoting separatism. The idea of uniting all Pashtun tribes is also close to the Afghan Taliban, which tacitly (and possibly materially, as Pakistani intelligence claims) supports its Pakistani brethren.

Interestingly, the Pashtun identity is ingrained into the name of Pakistan—the first letter of the country's name symbolizes this ethnic group.

As for India, New Delhi, being the eternal adversary of its eastern neighbor, is interested in weakening or even disintegrating Pakistan.

Or perhaps they have the same odd idea as Israel, that it would be ever so nice if their neighbours would just behave, and stop trying to conquer them.

Before the Taliban came to power, India's diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan was very intensive. And judging by the Afghan Foreign Minister's visit to India on October 7, ties have again normalized.

From an economic perspective, India certainly has much to offer the promising Afghan market, especially given that most Western countries now have no access there.

But Pakistan is most concerned about the activities of Indian intelligence agencies, which could regain access to Afghan “assets” and use them for subversive activities.

This is why the Pakistani official press release mentioned Fitna al-Khawarij, also known as Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, which is designated a terrorist organization by the authorities.

The term "Fitna al-Hindustan" is used for terrorist organizations operating in Balochistan province, and they are also accused of having links to Indian intelligence agencies.

Yes. Fitna-al-Hindustan is the Baloch Liberation Army and similar Baloch liberation groups, Fitna al-Khawarij is the TTP and linked groups, both in Pakistan’s sudden new terminology. No one else calls them that.

Given the many nuances deeply rooted in the two countries' histories, it appears peaceful and good-neighborly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be a long time in coming, even though both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China wields considerable influence.

Given the Pakistan Army’s insistence on making Afghanistan their fallback position, should India decide to seriously put an end to Pakistani depredations, they simply cannot permit Afghanistan to be strong enough to keep them out.

Link

India-Pakistan

Banned TTP perceived as PTI''s militant wing, says Atta Tarar

2025-10-12

[GEO.TV] Firing a fresh salvo at the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI), Information Minister Atta Tarar on Saturday said that it was an impression in the country that outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) has become the krazed killer wing of the Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
-founded party.

Addressing a presser in Lahore, Tarar said certain elements were obstructing efforts to restore peace in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and that troublemakers were attempting to destabilise the province.

He added that the entire nation stands united to eradicate the menance of terrorism from the country.

The minister praised the nation's resolve against terrorism and credited operations such as Radd-ul-Fasaad and Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
for significantly weakening krazed killer networks.

He alleged that certain "political actors" brought back Lions of Islam to the country under a plan.

The minister also levelled serious allegations against the KP cabinet, claiming that the ''timber and drug mafias'' were operating within it.

He questioned why the provincial government had failed to take action against the tobacco and timber mafias or curb the use of non-custom-paid vehicles.

Link

-12 More