@MarioNawfal They are genocidal maniacs. What law gives them permission to destroy thousands of homes? Where are global institutions to stop this ethnic cleansing?
I am honoured to announce that the historic ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding’ has been electronically signed today between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Memorandum has been signed by honourable Presidents of both the countries and also endorsed by me as the mediator. The signing of this agreement at the highest level of the respective governments demonstrates the commitment of both sides to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. Islamabad MoU shall enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade.
I offer my heartfelt congratulations and sincere appreciation to the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump whose steadfast commitment to diplomacy and preference for peaceful resolution have once again helped end a conflict that could have led to devastating consequences for the region and beyond. I also commend the dedication and tireless efforts of the United States negotiating team, including J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, for their invaluable contributions to this achievement.
I express my profound respect and appreciation to His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Islamic Republic of Iran and President Masoud Pezeshkian for their wisdom, foresight and statesmanship in embracing the cause of peace. I also wish to recognize the efforts of the Iranian negotiating team, including Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Abbas Araghchi and Eskandar Momeni, whose patience, perseverance and commitment to constructive engagement were instrumental in bringing this agreement to fruition.
I would especially like to acknowledge the sincere efforts and constructive engagement of the leadership of the State of Qatar in helping reach this point. I also highly commend the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Türkiye and the Arab Republic of Egypt for their indispensable role and invaluable contributions in this regard.
I would also like to make special mention of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, whose tireless efforts, selfless dedication and instrumental role were critical in facilitating this breakthrough and advancing the cause of peace and regional stability.
May this Memorandum of Understanding serve as an enduring foundation for greater understanding, mutual respect and shared prosperity for the complete region.
@realDonaldTrump@JDVance@SecRubio@SteveWitkoff@SEPeaceMissions@drpezeshkian@mb_ghalibaf@araghchi
This is an absolutely major story and almost no Western media covered it: India's water minister CR Patil said on Tuesday that "it is certain, not a single drop of water will go (to Pakistan) in the coming years."
Patil said that India is "actively working on it" after "directives" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As a reminder, Pakistan's dependence on water from India is close to total: the country is essentially built around the Indus river system, all of whose rivers flow through India before entering Pakistan.
The Indus system irrigates 80% of Pakistan's farmland, generates a third of its electricity, supplies its major cities with drinking water, and sustains the livelihoods of some 240 million people.
So, essentially, no water from India = annihilation of Pakistan as a state.
Pretty damn consequential, all the more given we're talking about 2 nuclear powers here. And all the more because, understandably, Pakistan's formal position is that water diversion would constitute "an act of war" (https://t.co/WLoDpGzc2W).
Unfortunately, Patil's statement isn't just talk: India already set up the legal framework to make this possible. Last year, they unilaterally suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, despite the treaty containing no withdrawal clause.
It used to be the one piece of India-Pakistan relations that worked, and had survived multiple wars and over six decades of hostility. Now India is saying officially that it will "never be restored" (https://t.co/2SnUNevFbX).
The one mitigating factor here is physics: you don't just "turn off" a major Himalayan river system. Diverting rivers of this magnitude means building massive storage and canal infrastructure in Himalayan terrain: projects measured in years.
But India IS ACTUALLY BUILDING that infrastructure: for instance it just approved in May the building of the so-called "Chenab–Beas Link Tunnel," an 8.7km ₹2,352 crore (~$280M) tunnel designed to divert water from the Chenab basin into India's Beas river system. The Chenab is one of the main tributaries of the Indus - and one of the three "western rivers" (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
Which means that, unfortunately, Patil's "not a single drop of water in the coming years" looks like a roadmap: the infrastructure to strangle Pakistan's water supply is being approved and tendered in plain sight.
This is also a story about selective media coverage and double standards: I'm willing to bet that 99% of people in the West have never heard of any of this.
Now make this thought experiment: imagine China announced it was building infrastructure to cut off every drop of water flowing to India and its ministers proclaimed on television that "not a single drop" would cross the border. It would be wall-to-wall coverage, sanctions packages, and a thousand op-eds about Beijing "weaponizing water."
Heck we don't need to imagine because the simple fact of China merely building a hydropower dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (the upstream Brahmaputra) generated exactly the wall-to-wall alarm I'm describing, even though China threatened nothing and even though Indian officials said the threat is a "myth" given the fact that the river gathers most of its volume inside India from monsoon rains (https://t.co/GBgBybBPoE). Malign intent was still presumed from the act of construction, because it's China.
In India's case, the intent couldn't possibly be clearer: it's proclaimed by ministers on the record, and backed by India's actions. But because they're a courted Western partner, what they're doing - arguably the most extreme form of economic warfare imaginable, directed at a nuclear state - largely gets silence.
Src for screenshot: https://t.co/qav4muNkij
I rent at One Constitution Avenue. At 1 AM last night, I was jolted awake by heavy banging on the door. My first panicked thought: thieves. Instead, I was greeted by 50 heavily armored police officers — rude, aggressive, and clearly ready to beat us into submission if we resisted. They gave us no reason. Pretended it was for security as in recent times when peace negotiations were being held.
No court order shown. No documents. No explanation.
Just “vacate by 12 noon today.” Only later did I learn this midnight raid had a court’s blessing. Why am I not surprised? This is Pakistan’s “protocol court” justice at its finest.
The building has been in dispute for 20 years. During that entire farce, the CDA — the regulator that slept for years while the building was constructed and apartments sold
There’s even suspicion it was complicit.
Any reasonable judge would have treated the CDA as guilty if at a minimum negligence.
A regulator that was asleep (or worse) should not now be allowed to benefit. Apartment sales were formally recognized by the CDA and previous judges — so why suddenly reverse everything in CDA’s favor? The building ownership I am told is being transferred to CDA
What court in the world authorises 50 armed goons to storm a residential building at 1 AM, trampling individual property and tenancy rights with zero notice?
As I wrote in my latest Substack on judicial/bureaucratic over-reach: courts should appoint professional receivership instead of handing assets back to the same failed bureaucracy. “Development rights can be re-auctioned” in an open market — not gifted to the CDA. The building could easily have been placed in receivership, demising rights sold via transparent auction, value preserved, and residents protected.
But obviously our judges don’t know enough economics or real law. This is what serious law — what I call ELEVATE justice — would require.
I called journalists. No TV, no radio.
Who needs this judiciary? Uneducated protocol seekers in robes, quick to destroy value after it’s created, while shielding the real culprits. Is this judgment even lawful? And even if eviction were technically possible, does it have to be this thuggish and inhumane?
This isn’t justice. It’s asset assassination by judicial decree.
https://t.co/bAwfSx4bUu
The WSJ published an opinion piece today arguing that Pakistan's position on Palestine is "deranged." The author is an Indian columnist at a pro-Israel think tank whose next book is about Modi. Published on the Pahalgam anniversary. During the week Pakistan is mediating between the US and Iran. I wrote a response.
Mr President, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and on my behalf, I express my deep and profound appreciation for your kind and gracious words.
@realDonaldTrump