A newer Open Thread is up: Open Thread: Navarฤtri and Durgฤ Pลซjฤ โ
It seems to be a new and very pragmatic Middle East. In a way the hybrid regimes, who don’t necessarily have democratic mandates, are able to be wily and nimble actors, who can balance the Great Powers.
So they need to integrate their economies into the Global, not antagonise either China or the US, and somehow weave in traditionalism.
Israel, India, which have very long democratic traditions and also see themselves as “Great Powers” seem to have a more grandiose foreign policy. Israel seems to have swung, reputation wise, in a single generation.
I’m just spitballing here. Of course India is on the scale of the EU, US, China & Russia in terms of geopolitical heft but as girmits says, India also *sees* itself that way.
The comment thread went bezerk after last night’s post but I guess the Commentariat enjoyed themselves?
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Even Israelis were surprised at the speed of asad’s collapse. His mistake was becoming friends with saudi and UAE, and believing them. It is said that his army was willing to fight.
There is always a chance that coastal alwayiets can separate.
Kurds now subdued and have become sort of autonomous, with their language getting recognized, may get brave once again.
Russians are still in Syria.
If and when, iran gets subdued, American interests will be dominating the region for a longtime.
But why would everyone endlessly fight than negotiate? I think what the War with Iran showed, Muslim power are being conservative
The Kurds and the Baloch are….. both unlucky in so many ways.
Cant find the related comments made about this on BP today. CDS is playing some silly mind games. Kairana hills was Brahmos. Case closed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuPJMaGva4k
This whole ‘accidental drone’ cover story is just that. They are constructing plausible deniability.
And also pushing a ‘shift’ in the questions to a discussion on Pak’s nuke facilities being targeted. Because the natural corollary to this conversation is, if a ‘tired drone’ was able to fall and hit kirana hills, what was Pak air defense doing? or rather not doing?
I mean, everybody knows that Pak air defense utterly failed to prevent the IAF from targeting PAF bases across the length and breath of Pakistan almost at will.
The ‘surprise’ success in the initial hours of Op Sindoor that PAF got with the extended range PL-15 has been the fig leaf and dominant narrative thread.
Shift the conversation to beyond the first 30 minutes, and it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain the Pakistani Potemkin-ism
Bangladesh wanting to join the Makkah Agreement is the most hilarious development I have seen in recent times.
This is the same Bangladesh that fought a war against Pakistan for its independence with Indian assistance, and Indians keep repeating the same mythology about ‘Bengali genocide’ even to this day.
Now the same Bengalis seek Pakistani protection against big bad India. Absolute comedy.
It appears the situation in Nepal is still evolving with more danger brewing at glacial lakes. Also read somewhere that Balen has refused ‘foreign’ help, which appears to be a euphemism to allow only Chinese in. In any case, lots of Chinese propaganda on social media as well.
https://x.com/aadilbrar/status/2093282683002794346
Personal anecdote I thought worth sharing. Was at a convention in Singapore where I ran in to a Malaysian guy quite confidently declaring that in India you go to jail straight if your car hits a cow thrice. I was so flabbergasted, I didn’t even know how to respond.
The Indian LeLi, Chino-Pak botfarms and Wignats have really pulled a number on India’s image globally. I can understand the foreign elements but I can never forgive the Indian LeLis for this. Their hatred for the party in power has now transmutated into hate for their own country, people and culture.
Indian LeLi weren’t doing a great job with the image even when they were in power. They got by because India was a much more insignificant power. Now its a rising power affecting people and their own position in an imagined hierarchy. It’s bound to bristle folks.
Colonised self hating minds. To be fair, a lot of the Indian populace was too focused on survival during the socialist lost generations. It is only now that people have the luxury of noticing the bindings.
https://theprint.in/national-interest/pakistan-imran-khan-cricket-asim-munir/3027879/
It seems the Anglos are upset with Pakistanis for some reason? Why else would they allow this? Wonder if all the goodwill earned for apparently saving the world from qayamat has already been frittered away.
Sharing some art from “The Peshawar Review”.
“Visions of Mughal Heritage: An Architectural Series”
https://thepeshawarreview.substack.com/p/visions-of-mughal-heritage-an-architectural
The US has apparently struck Larak Island.
What’s going on with the Iran War?
Yes, what’s happening there? Any more on this?
“US weighs limited strikes on Iran to curb missile, radar rebuild in Hormuz: report”
https://www.dawn.com/live/iran-israel-war#2026534
“Prime Time: The Informal Therapy of Pakistani Dramas”
By Sarwat N. Shah
https://www.dawn.com/news/2025743/prime-time-the-informal-therapy-of-pakistani-dramas
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/keralam-islamic-scholar-says-womens-public-appearances-will-cause-great-destruction/article71408754.ece
Crazy news coming out of Kerelam from the usual suspects.
“Protest in NY against RSS chief’s visit”
https://www.dawn.com/news/2026532/protest-in-ny-against-rss-chiefs-visit
https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/08/31/pakistan-is-hungry
Pakistan is hungry
Over the past six years, food insecurity has risen sharply among Pakistani households. Rural areas are worse off, but the story in urban centres is very similar โ people are eating less, and theyโre eating worse to make up for it.
We can do tit for tat posts all day long. Have at it.
Whatever Pakistan’s internal issues are, they don’t take away from the fact that Mohan Bhagwat’s goodwill tour to the US is not going all that well.
I would love to see the US impose targeted sanctions against RSS members.
Tit-for-tat is proven to the best strategy in an 2 player game according to game theory.
I mean if you want to search the internet for negative news about Pakistan by all means go ahead.
No one is claiming Pakistan doesn’t have internal issues.
I can find stats about poverty and slums in India as well.
What you are doing is simply deflection from the RSS related news.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is not a Pakistani-controlled entity.
Perhaps open the article for once. It is written by a Pakistani newspaper and authored by a Pakistani. Pakistan is the only country in the subcontinent where poverty has actually risen instead of reducing its effects are simply being shown through that article.
Please go and find equivalent stats about Indian poverty. I will gladly go through them. As for the RSS they’re big boys they can handle a bit of flak they don’t need me to defend them unlike the Pak Fauj which requires constant defense from you. USCIRF I really don’t care about if they want to sanction someone they are free to do it otherwise its just pointless posturing.
No one is denying that there is poverty in Pakistan. I don’t know why you think this is such a big revelation.
“It is written by a Pakistani newspaper and authored by a Pakistani”–
“The Wire” is an Indian website and the articles are written by Indians. Yet everyone on this site acts as if it’s “anti national”. So this is not a good argument.
It’s obvious you were triggered by the negative article I posted about the RSS.
Out of respect for Agni, I’m leaving it here.
Feel free to continue if you wish.
Thank you.
That’s a very good point Kabir.
You’ve happily posted articles from ‘The Wire’.
Offer OM the same courtesy.
Why are you getting involved in a conversation that doesn’t concern you? You get all upset when I do it.
After the way you’ve been treating me, please stop getting involved in discussions with me.
For the record, I have nothing against “Pakistan Today”. I’ve been published in the paper.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/09/28/review-elena-ferrantes-neapolitan-novels
It’s obvious that OM was triggered by the news about NY protests against the RSS and decided posting anti-Pakistan news was the way to deal with it.
That’s on him.
Because you keep trying to police this site.
This is not your site.
Do not police people on this site.
This is the bone of my contention with you.
Respect the mods.
I will request the mods to please ensure that Indosaurus doesn’t interact with me unnecessarily.
If you are serious about the “Online Safety” protocol, please do this.
I request the mods not to accede to any of Kabir’s requests until he gives a solemn inviolable promise to respect the rights of other participants on this site.
a) No making random false accusations.
b) No policing what other people post.
c) Remain calm and courteous at all times.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
This is just bare minimum courtesy that is generally expected from community participants. And especially from proven repeat offenders.
Whao! Your writings are really widespread.
Thanks:)
A few of them appeared in newspapers (mostly DAWN). Most of them appeared on my blog and then on Substack.
I have had some pieces published in academic journals.
I also have a book out which has been published in India and Pakistan:
https://aakarbooks.com/product/the-decline-of-hindustani-music-in-pakistan-a-social-history/
Yes it would be nice if the entire Commentariat channeled their focus positively and produced good comment.
On reflection however Kabir canโt link or share anything to do with India or Bharat in a political sense.
He can share pro-Pakistan content that tangentially involves India but he canโt link to the Wire or write on Indiaโs internal political affairs as he is an Indiaphobe.
This is only fair since his comments have shown him to be hostile to Indian people, race and nation.
BP must always be fair.
To all, don’t fan the flames.
That was the purpose of the Open Season thread which unfortunately also ended up being moderated.
Sharing this dadra which was originally sung by Begum Akhtar:
https://kabiraltaf.substack.com/p/cha-rahee-kali-ghata
“Celebrated classical dancer and teacher Indu Mitha passes away”
Indu ji’s daughters were close family friends. One of them, Tehreema Mitha, is a Bharatnatyam dancer based in the DC area.
I had interviewed Indu ji for my thesis.
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195756/celebrated-classical-dancer-and-teacher-indu-mitha-passes-away
“Obituary: Classical dance icon Indu Mitha is no more”
By Syeda Sheherbano Kazim
https://images.dawn.com/news/1195763/obituary-classical-dance-icon-indu-mitha-is-no-more
now Nepal wants india, USA and china to pay compensation for the floods.
https://www.livemint.com/news/old-monk-cant-be-sold-as-rum-fssai-tells-court-as-firm-submits-revised-labels-11788381077928.html
Old Monk canโt be sold as rum, FSSAI tells Bombay High Court, as company submits revised labels
What a sad day. Perhaps they’ll finally have an excuse to make a drink that doesn’t make me wince.