Zia Ur Rehman

Listening to the music, eating bread and butter.
~Franz Kafka

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

چاہتا ہوں میں منیرؔ اس عمر کے انجام پر
ایک ایسی زندگی جو اس طرح مشکل نہ ہو

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

His latest interview comfirms the smallness of his personality. The second you got your "one in a lifetime moment", start downgrading those who were with you at your worst. Popularity has gone to his head.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

As much as Ferran adds value to our squad, I don't understand the problem of moving from him. He is a great player and a good squad member but people forget that his numbers are inflated because of Flick's attacking system. One WC final goal and people forgot that he doesn't

[Ammar Rashid @AmmarRashidT]

A lot of blood has been tragically and unnecessarily spilt in AJK & the online discourse around the issue has gotten incredibly toxic. Tried to lay out some thoughts on the AJK crisis & its structural foundations beyond the immediate standoff and who bears responsibility for its mishandling.

I think the evidence shows that the fundamental basis for the disaffection that has been mobilized by JAAC in AJK - underneath all the higher-order debates about refugee seats & subsidies - is mass unemployment. Strongly feel that this is something a lot of mainland Pakistani commentators who complain about the supposedly exorbitant fiscal subsidies to AJK completely miss in their analysis of the situation.

AJK's unemployment rate is more than double that of Pakistan's & its adult labour force participation rate (around 22-25%) is roughly half the rest of the country (practically among the lowest in all subnational regions in South Asia).

There are two main reasons for this. The first is the state-subject rule (in place since 1927), which systematically prevents outside investment or land purchases in AJK (including in tourism, energy and the private sector in general). This has led to an emaciated local economy reliant almost entirely on the state & informal sector for employment, leaving an army of (mostly educated) unemployed young people without any career options beyond out-migration while also severely limiting the local tax base. (GB has a similar problem but it is relatively less affected by the LoC conflict, is integral to trade with China & has some respite via a relatively thriving tourism sector)

The second obvious reason - remittances - compounds the first. Owing to its unique emigration history, AJK has Pakistan's remittance-fueled dutch disease on steroids (comprising around 25% of its GDP). While remittances help a large part of the AJK population stay afloat & limit absolute poverty, they also fuel a consumption economy, inflate local land and housing prices and further immiserize those without diaspora income. The failure to catalyze remittances into local investment is certainly a policy & business failure but ultimately, creating a thriving formal investment environment is complicated in the presence of the limitations imposed by the state-subject rule.

These very serious structural economic constraints make the people of AJK far more vulnerable than the rest of the country to inflationary shocks like the ones we've seen since 2022-23 & the start of the Iran war. The federal government has just attempted to alleviate the problem with fiscal grants but its own fiscal & economic crises of recent years have eroded the mitigatory economic impact of its fiscal interventions in AJK.

The entire fever-pitched debate around refugee seats, subsidies & official perks ignores these structural realities entirely, largely because neither local nationalists & political elites nor Pakistani state elites want to disturb AJK's status for their own political or strategic reasons, the economic conditions of ordinary people be damned.

We may yet (inshallah) be able to find a political pathway out of the present conflict and attempt more fiscal, representative or institutional fixes as bandaids. The state may find a way to muzzle JAAC's current leadership to try and squash further mobilizations. But until these structural limitations to economic growth and development are resolved, this problem is not going away. The Kashmir dispute obviously makes a simple solution complicated, but denying how the legal-constitutional status quo perpetuates the crisis and just relying on force and cooptation is unlikely to work in the absence of a structural settlement that creates the conditions for a healthy local economy.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

any fuss. Assuming he moves to PSG this summer, Barca will get a good transfer fee, and Ferran gets the chance to work under Enrique again.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

As much as Ferran adds value to our squad, I don't understand the problem of moving from him. He is a great player and a good squad member but people forget that his numbers are inflated because of Flick's attacking system. One WC final goal and people forgot that he doesn't

[Reshad Rahman @ReshadRahman]

💡 Ideal scenario: Receiving 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 than €65m/€70m for Ferran Torres.

…but in a very realistic world, getting €45m would alone be a surprise (to me).

Why? Available on a free transfer next summer + free to negotiate w/ any club from January.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

Barca need a clinical number 9. Pedri, Cubarsi, Yamal, and many others in this squad can produce moment of brilliance by one pass. Taking those chances hold value, not missed. Therefore, if Ferran Torres feels not valued, best for both club and him is to move on without creating

[Neal 🇦🇺 @NealGardner_]

Do you know how astonishingly bad you have to be to make UEFA look like the good guys?

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

that none of the political parties want to risk their position by going against decision makers. And it is also a fact that, in this cycle of our history, political parties will have to pay for their compliance with wrong.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

What we have done in Kashmir is nothing but a reflection of country's history. The cycle keeps exiting without any serious effort to escape. With the current regime, it was supposed to be a new and high time as both the government and establishment was on same page. That myth too

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

illegitimate powers. Their silence, particularly from their senior leadership, tells that they care about Imran Khan. What is happening in AJK can be put on the government later as a political narrative. Whatever comes out of situation in AJK, one thing that still holds true is

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

Kashmir is bleeding again. State has failed again like many times before. Every picture, video, or any information coming out shows why we are so weak. In this state, the only solution of any disagreement is violence. When people resist back, they'll be declared traitors.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

One of the aspects of Messi's game is that he waits for defenders to make their move. He adjusts according to the situation rather than imposing himself everywhere. It takes away alternatives from defenders; they end up either losing their position or fouling Messi.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

🇦🇷🇪🇸 Alexis Mac Allister: “Football is becoming more and more physical…

…and that’s why it’s important that two teams who play good football have reached the final”.

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

If life gives you a chance to be Piers Morgan or Mehdi Hasan, don't live that life

[The Touchline | 𝐓 @TouchlineX]

🚨🗣️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Micah Richards: "Argentina have the GOAT. The Greatest of all Time. We thought it could have been Jude Bellingham, we thought it could have been Harry Kane.

But this is why Lionel Messi is the KING."

— BBC

[Zia Ur Rehman @ZiaRehman2002]

Talk is cheap.

[ESPN UK @ESPNUK]

Thomas Tuchel speaking about Lionel Messi 😳

[Shehzad Ghias Shaikh @Shehzad89]

Messi is inevitable