مصباح عمر

Unlearn what no longer resonates.

[punnu - پُنّوں @punnu__khan]

جیہڑے نال تکبری آکڑن گے، وانگ عید دے بکرے ڈھاہین گے

Those who strut about with arrogance, they will be felled like a sacrificial goat on Eid
- Heer, Waaris Shah

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

@IlhanNiaz Congratulations.

[Talha Ahmad @talhaahmad967]

On this day, 7 May 2025, Pakistan Air Force fighter aircraft shot down multiple Indian fighter jets inside Indian airspace. The incident marked one of the most significant air combat encounters in the history of modern warfare and recent years in South Asia.

It marked the largest aerial engagement since World War II, involving over 100 aircraft and the longest BVR (Beyond-Visual-Range) engagement in the history of modern warfare, as PL-15 fired by PAF J-10c shot down Indian Air Force jets deep inside Indian airspace.

[Abdullah Ansar @ShaykhIshraq]

A rhymed Punjabi translation of the Diwan of Hafiz. The Punjabi translation, in itself, is a work of art. Published is Kashmiri Bazar, Lahore.

[kaelestia @kaelestia]

An illustration of ‹ The poet Homer › (ʾŪmīrūš al-šāʿir) from a 13th cent. Arabic MS, likely drawn in Mosul.

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

Such a beautiful portrait of Romila Thapar.

Happy reading, guys!

https://t.co/O86w1L283U

[Zehra Farooq @ZehraFarooq]

Lots of reaction to the World Bank reclassifying Pakistan from its South Asia region to "MENAAP" for FY2026.

The piece missing from most of this conversation: the IMF has had a near-identical grouping "MENAP" since 2011.
What does the reclassification actually mean? A 🧵

[Sean W. Anthony @shahanSean]

A succint, lucid lecture by Rapoport covering the Arabicization and Islamicizaton of Palestine, which (most historians and archaeologists now agree) largely took place during the Mamluk period and not in the wake of the early Arab conquests
https://t.co/lo6gCFRWRz

[Iran Embassy in Zimbabwe @IRANinZIMBABWE]

Bad mood= strait of trump
Normal mood= strait of Hormuz
Good mood= strait of Iran

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

@ThePakistanExp1 Good job!

[Rabia Akhtar @Rabs_AA]

Pakistan is not making random diplomatic moves. It is positioning itself as the hinge state in a very fragile regional moment.

FM Gen. Asim Munir’s Tehran visit suggests the immediate priority is not a dramatic breakthrough but reassurance: testing whether Tehran is willing to keep the channel open despite deep mistrust with Washington while also seeking assurances that any renewed engagement would respect its security concerns, preserve strategic autonomy, and avoid the perception of capitulation to U.S. pressure. That matters because public signals from both Trump and Vance indicate the door to another round is still open, but the underlying distrust remains severe.

The PM’s Saudi leg should not be read only through the prism of mediation. Riyadh has just extended another $3 billion in support to Pakistan at a moment of external financing pressure, so this stop is also about economic cushioning, political insurance, and making sure Pakistan’s diplomatic activism is backed by Gulf confidence rather than undermined by financial vulnerability.

The wider regional tour also tells us this is becoming a contact-group style effort, not a Pakistan-only initiative. PM is also visiting Qatar, and Turkey, while Erdogan has publicly said Turkey is working to extend the ceasefire and continue talks, with Pakistan explicitly part of that diplomatic push. That would help multilateralise the burden of de-escalation.

The near-term objective is probably to keep the ceasefire from collapsing, narrow the agenda, and create a face-saving bridge on sequencing: who moves first, what gets deferred, and how each side avoids looking like it surrendered. That is why this phase looks heavy on shuttle diplomacy and regional consultation, and light on triumphalism.

The Tehran, Riyadh, and possible Islamabad tracks together suggest Pakistan is managing space for a second round and is trying to stop the crisis from hardening into a new regional order.

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

If you’ve some time, be sure to watch this. You will gain insight into how an insider views these matters. Look out for some intriguing information and unique perspectives.

[Tucker Carlson @TuckerCarlson]

Did Netanyahu know October 7th was coming? Why did he fund Hamas? Who are the settlers killing Palestinians in the West Bank? A journalist based in Israel answers the questions American media ignore.

0:00 The Truth Behind October 7th
8:44 When Did Planning For October 7th Start?
15:35 Why the Head of Hamas Wants Israel to Take Over Gaza
23:24 Did Israeli Intel Ignore Signals Leading up to October 7th?
30:51 Why Was the IDF Given a Stand-Down Order?
38:03 Will the Citizens of Gaza Be Relocated Anywhere?
45:42 Why Did Netanyahu Send U.S. Funds to Hamas Before October 7th?
52:47 Israel’s Actual Weakness
59:24 The Strange New World of West Bank Settlers
1:13:45 Are Israel’s Cabinet Ministers Powerful Figures?
1:17:19 Do Israelis Have a Sense of What the World Thinks of Israel?
1:21:49 What’s the Root of Antisemitism?
1:27:49 How Much Damage Has Been Done From the War?
1:34:07 How Has Israel Changed Since October 7th?
1:40:39 How Israelis View Trump, the GCC, and American Jews
1:46:35 The Landscape of the Middle East in Five Years

[Douglas A. Boneparth @dougboneparth]

So if Iran decides to blockade our blockade of their blockade, we will just have to blockade their blockade of our blockade blockading their blockade.

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

After paying the HEC-recognised university that gave the degree, the student must bring it to HEC which charges for attestation simply after getting a confirmation email from the relevant university.
Students pay twice, & HEC gets paid for stamping it against a confirmation email

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

@AU_Qasmi Congratulations! @AU_Qasmi

[Jasir Shahbaz @LahoreMarquez]

India with its years of establishing soft power through Bollywood, yoga & exotic India for West. Meanwhile, Pakistan with nukes and loads of debt.

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

😎

[Dushyant Arora @atti_cus]

Padosi ne war rukwa di papa.

[Alex Shams @alexshams_]

Look at this map of Kharg in the New York Times

8,000 Iranians live on this Persian Gulf island. It is home to an old town and ancient monuments.

But the Times ignores all of that and instead presents it exclusively as a military target.

A master class in dehumanization:

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

Take a few minutes to read this carefully. By the time you finish, you will understand that why things don’t work out the way they should.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

Let me try to explain why are diesel prices excessively high in Pakistan.

Pakistan produces about 75% of its own diesel. It imports the remaining.

OGRA/Govt sets price for diesel in Pakistan based on imported diesel price.

The price of imported diesel is always a little more than the cost of domestic diesel so our refineries always get a little extra profit. (There is a hope that with this profit they will convert their machinery and reduce the sulphur content in their diesel).

Because of Iran war the spread between low sulphur diesel produced and traded in Singapore and crude oil has increased exponentially.

The normal spread between crude and diesel has multiplied many times. For instance, OGRA’s price of imported diesel is Rs 496 but the cost of crude plus refining and other margins is about Rs 350 so we are paying Rs 150 more for domestically refined diesel.

What is the solution:

Restrict that only PSO imports diesel (which is almost always true anyway).
Set the diesel price according to the price of Arab Light crude plus margins. Compensate PSO for the cost difference between imported diesel and local diesel. Put a levy on all diesel to pay for that PSO compensation.

For instance, assume the cost of imported diesel is Rs 500 and the cost of domestic diesel is Rs 350. Also assume 70% diesel is domestic. So the OGRA price of diesel should be Rs 350 plus Rs 45 levy or Rs 395. The Rs 45 govt collects on all 100% of diesel is given to PS0 to cover the loss on imported diesel of 30%. This only needs to be done for the next couple of months of harvesting season. After that, diesel demand decreases and we don’t even have to import diesel till October so no need for compensatory levy.

And then as soon as possible but no later than May 31, govt should deregulate all petroleum prices (but continue to subsidise PSO when diesel is imported).

This isn’t rocket science. But then the present govt is not exactly composed of rocket scientists.

[مصباح عمر @misbah_umar]

“The Takhbula has delivered tactical shocks but failed to achieve strategic collapse. The Mosaic Doctrine, resilient, decentralised, and ideologically fuelled, is proving more durable in the attritional phase.”
@IftikharFirdous
Brilliant work.
It’s a must-read article.

[The Khorasan Diary @khorasandiary]

TKD ANALYSIS: Iftikhar Firdous Breaks Down The High-Stakes Collision Between Israel’s Intelligence Strategy Takhbula And Iran’s IRGC Mosaic Strategy. This Isn’t Just a Conventional War; But a Contest of Resilience Versus Patience. Who Blinks First?
https://t.co/I7lzw2eiwC