Misbah

.

[Misbah @misbahraani]

You were the greatest thing
And now you're just a memory
To let go of.

[Nadia Jamil @NJLahori]

Thousands of children in Kasur were raped & videotaped, blackmailed & are still without justice. Zainab, Uzma, Kamran, the little boys of Shahrag, the little bachabaazi victims at trucks stood, coal mines, the brothels with sex workers age 9 up. And now this child raped & found dead above a grocery store.

Yet none of this is really a priority is it?

The relentless news keeps building. But as long as the powerful keep getting richer & more powerful, it doesn’t really matter.

We have become ridiculously desensitised.

Yet most of the people turning a blind eye to the LACK of child protection in Pakistan are deeply religious.
Curious. How do you all think your silence on every platform will show up on judgment day?
Because it will.

I stopped believing in a fair world when I started working with children’s rights & children in shelters 35 years ago.
But I do believe in the justice of Allah.
And Alhamdolillah I still do believe in the compassion & kindness of the human race.
There are angels amongst us that keep my faith in humanity alive.

In the mean time…. I request today as I did during Kasur… as I did in 2011-2013-2017-2018- & every year since I’ve been active on social media…

Please speak up and demand child protection, awareness & safe guarding for children, campaigns all over Pakistan.

This pandemic of child sexual abuse needs to stop.

It’s beyond insane how society has allowed it and how complicit all of those who continue to be silent are.

[Ammar Rashid @AmmarRashidT]

Psychotic to award honors to bureaucrats for the achievement of making 1000s of working class people homeless. Have met weeping mothers who spoke of how she ripped up court orders & laughed in their faces as their homes were razed. Development as dispossession institutionalized.

[Saj Sadiq @SajSadiqCricket]

Pakistan Cricket within the last 2 years:

Lost a T20I to Ireland.
Lost a T20I to USA.
Failed to qualify for the second stage of the T20 World Cup.
Lost a Test series 2-0 at home to Bangladesh.
Lost a Test match by an innings after scoring 556 runs in the first innings.
Lost a ODI to Zimbabwe. Lost a T20I to Zimbabwe. Failed to win a single match in the Champions Trophy. Failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy semi-finals Worst ever defeat in T20I history.
Conceded 92 runs in the first 6 overs of a T20I.
Lost 7 out of 8 matches against a weakened NZ team.
Bowled out for 110 by Bangladesh in a T20I.
Failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup
Lost a ODI series to Bangladesh
Lost a 3rd Test match in a row to Bangladesh
#Cricket

[Hussain Nadim @HNadim87]

On Critique: The First Principle

Critique is a luxury, and not everything deserves it. For something to be critique-able, it must first pass the legitimacy test.

A military dictator who seizes power by violating the constitution, breaking his oath, and unleashing violence on his own people does not deserve critique, let alone appreciation, of his policies . Whether his monetary strategy works, or his diplomatic maneuvers are effective, is beside the point. Same goes for dynastic political leaders and their children that parachute into positions of power.

The only critique they deserve is the rejection of their illegitimacy. Anything beyond that risks granting legitimacy to what is fundamentally illegitimate.

Because those without legitimacy desperately seek critique to manufacture legitimacy. They want engagement on “performance” to distract from the question of legitimacy itself.

Those in the media, academia, and intellectual spaces that try to separate legitimacy from critique and offer engagement as a service often do it to endorse, validate and legitimize actors in the garb of “police debate” and “genuine” critique.

Sometimes, the only form of critique is refusing to debate the details, and instead focusing on the first principle of questioning the right of the actor to rule in the first place.

[Ali @junaidalirehan2]

The govt is trying so bloody hard just to tax people who've installed solar panels. We already paid sales tax, sunlight is Allah's blessing, so who the hell are you to tax our solar panels,?? In fact we've helped you in managing line losses. So why the fuck would you tax us?

[Joe Kent @joekent16jan19]

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.

It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.

May God bless America.

[Osama أسامة @WordsByOsama]

So Maryam Nawaz bought a luxury jet from taxpayers money, made every attempt through her dumb friends in the govt to deny & justify the buying and now they are threatening to use Peca against those who raise questions on the misuse of the jet?
Mind boggling sense of entitlement!

[Faizan @faizannriaz]

A former Prime Minister of Pakistan is banned from the country’s media but genocidal Netanyahu gets full coverage.

[Hajrah @drhajrabajwa]

Saudi’s surprise over America’s betrayal is ironic. The Arabs carry the heaviest burden of betrayal against the Muslim fraternity. When the entire Zionist world united in its hatred against Muslims, the Arabs chose to stand with them and cradled Islam’s greatest enemy when actually it has the greatest responsibility to protect Muslim Unity. This choice has a grave price, and the pay time has come.

[Assal Rad @AssalRad]

The difference is by design.

[Hussain Nadim @HNadim87]

The more protests grow against the US in Pakistan, the more relevance this regime can sell to the US.

That’s because, for decades, Pakistan’s ruling elite has convinced the US of the “dangers of democracy” in Pakistan, presenting their brutal dictatorial rule as a “safer” and “liberal alternative” to the supposedly “illiterate and Islamic extremist” masses of the country.

This anti-American sentiment in Pakistan isn’t natural. It has been artificially curated by the ruling elite for over 70 years, giving them both domestic control over public emotions and leverage with the US. This also explains why they are able to keep Imran Khan in a death cell without any resistance from the US or other Western powers, because he was repeatedly portrayed as “Taliban Khan,” an “Islamist,” and “anti-West” as part of the same narrative.

The latest protests and violence at the US Consulate in Karachi today will further reinforce the same messaging of “local savages” to the US, enabling deeper backing for the regime.

There is no example in history where the ruling elite of a country marketed or sold their own people as a threat to global order simply to secure endorsement from foreign powers; allowing them uninterrupted extraction and permanent control at home through brute force. This isn’t governance; it’s colonization.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

They lied and said Iran had nukes or were close to having nukes.

And of course Iran didn’t which is why the US and Israel were able to bomb Iran so easily today.

You know who does have nukes? North Korea. And the US will never dare attack Kim.

This is a recipe for more nukes.

[Abdullah @michaelscottfc]

Sometimes I wish Imran Khan was that cruel monster his opponents claim he is.

I WISH.

[Awab Alvi @DrAwab]

Pakistan’s shift from net metering to net billing in simple numbers:

You consume 500 units from the grid; your solar exports 400 units.

Old net metering:
Bill = (500 − 400) × ~Rs33 ≈ Rs3,300

New net billing:
Buy 500 × Rs33 ≈ Rs16,500
Sell 400 × ~Rs10 ≈ Rs4,000 credit
Final bill ≈ Rs12,500

Same solar. Very different bill.

PMLN trapped us in terrible IPP deals (many involving corruption and cuts), and we’re still bleeding because of them. Thank you, Sharifistan.

[Fiza @fizakkhann]

The most vile anti-Pakistan movie of the last decade, Dhurandar, is trending no.1 on Netflix in the country right now. Zero self respect. Absolutely zero. Appalling levels of shamelessness.

[omar r quraishi @omar_quraishi]

India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

India removed ‘Pakistan’ from the Asia Cup tournament logo in 2023
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

India refused to send Indian umpires and commentators to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

India removed Pakistan’s name from the 2025 Champions Trophy logo for ads in India – Pakistan was the host of the Champions Trophy 2025
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

Indian team players refused to shake hands with Pakistani players during the 2025 Asia Cup
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

Indian players refused to talk to Pakistani commentators during the toss
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

The Indian cricket team dedicated its Asia Cup 2025 achievements to its military
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

India refused (and still refuses) to receive the Asia Cup Winner’s Trophy from the Asian Cricket Council president – only because he is a Pakistan and even though the ACC organized the Asia Cup
What did the ICC do?

Nothing

[Arsalan Naseer @ArslanNaseerCBA]

Yeah most effected, still revenue doesn’t appear to be our priority. Whereas India, the least affected, seems ready to participate at any occasion as long as the 'money flows'. Weren't they dragging in the narrative of ‘nation first’ for not shaking hands, banning Pak players & refusing to visit Pak? It makes you question what truly drives your team..... *plays* "paisa paisa karti hai kyu paisey pe tu marti hai ? "

[Joy @Joydas]

Pakistan will not play the match against India on February 15th in ICC T20 World Cup. Such an immature act. Mature countries play the match and then refuse to shake hands.

[S 🇵🇰🇵🇸 @Smuggish_]

I am fucking disgusted with myself & all of us sitting warm at home. There is a displaced kid somewhere in Tirah with plastic bags tied around his feet in this cold. Why are we like THIS? & why is he like THAT? Why the fuck have we accepted & normalised this?

[Anas Tipu @teepusahab]

Karachi meri jaan, mera mulk!

Khi's resilience is unmatched. After Gul Plaza tragedy, it wasn’t the govt it was Karachiites. Free reconstruction offers, private rescue efforts, schools waiving 100% fees, people bringing food & water, and citizens supporting businesses online.