Siddharth Siva

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@ani_digital @ANI What picture is this?? Random pic thy does not show dubai airport

[Asra Nomani @AsraNomani]

“Bahawalpur.”

I still have chills in my heart from when I first heard that town’s name in late January 2002. For the 23 years since, I have reported on how Pakistani intelligence and military leaders have used that city — Bahawalpur — in the southern province of Punjab as a base for its homegrown domestic terrorists.

When I heard India bombed training camps in Pakistan this week in Operation Sindoor, in response to a Pakistani terrorist rampage in India’s Kashmir state, I had one city’s name on my lips: Bahawalpur.

Did India bomb Bahawalpur?

It did. I knew then India was striking actual hubs for Pakistan’s homegrown domestic terrorism.

Why do I know?

My friend, WSJ reporter Danny Pearl, went to Bahawalpur in December 2001 with a notebook and a pen. Gen. Pervez Musharraf had just promised he was shutting down Pakistan’s militant groups after a strike by Pakistan’s terrorists against the Parliament in India, and Danny reported on the militant offices in Bahawalpur.

He literally knocked on their doors. Dear Dr. @yudapearl, this story is a window into Danny’s reporting enterprise. And because people will wonder: Danny was no cowboy. This was a calculated low-risk reporting trip because no journalist had been targeted for kidnapping in Pakistan. Around that time, Danny sent me an email: “I’m anxious to go to Afghanistan, but I’m not anxious to die.”

What did Danny learn?

The militant training camps were open for business in Bahawalpur.

On Jan. 23, 2002, Danny left a home I had rented in Karachi, Pakistan, for an interview.

I learned Danny’s fixer, Asif Farooqi, had arranged an interview for Danny through a man named “Arif.” Danny didn’t know it but Arif was the PR man for a militant group, Harkutul Mujahadeen. What was Arif’s hometown? Bahawalpur.

The police launched a manhunt to find Arif in Bahawalpur. We learned Arif’s family faked a funeral for Arif. Police found him trying to board a bus in Muzaffarabad, across the country by Pakistan’s border with Kashmir.

It is another town India said it bombed terrorist training facilities.

Arif had handed Danny off to Omar Sheikh,a British-Pakistani dropout from the London School of Economics, radicalized in the 1990s in London mosques. He went to Pakistan to train in these militant training camps. Then he kidnapped tourists in India. He was caught and jailed but on Dec. 31, 1999, he was traded for hostages in the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814.

Omar Sheikh was freed with Pakistani terrorist leader Masood Azhar, whose family was allegedly killed this week by India’s air strike in Bahawalpur.

Did Pakistan jail Omar Sheikh and Masood Azhar when they returned to Pakistan with a third terrorist, freed from India’s jails?

No. Pakistan’s military and intelligence gave them safe passage. They used them as weapons against India. But in fact these domestic terrorists have waged war against innocents in Pakistan, like civil society activists, Benazir Bhutto, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, schoolchildren and countless others.

Their extremism has ruined Pakistan, and Pakistanis can’t blame America for creating the mujahideen to fight the Soviets in the 1980s.

Pakistan has had a duty to dismantle those terrorist bases — for even the safety of its own people. What India is doing is a strategic attack on terrorist bases Pakistani military and intelligence should have eliminated but never did in their obsession to take over Kashmir.

You will see parallels in the propaganda messages against India and Israel. Like Hamas, Pakistani terrorists crossed a border to kill. Now, Pakistani propagandists call themselves victims of their “fascist” “colonizer” neighbor.

It’s the Reverse Uno strategy of moral inversion, just like @stoolpresidente got from the Temple student who won’t take responsibility for promoting the “HATE THE JEWS” sign. Don’t fall for it. Nations, communities and people must own up to their extremism, from Bahawalpur to beyond.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

I don’t consider myself a prude but this hoarding ad made me deeply uncomfortable esp as a father. How did this immature copy pass muster with both the client and @ascionline @chennaicorp ? Are we normalising this kind of language?

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@eAndUAE_Care are the Olympics being broadcast on any channel with e&. No one of the major sports events including tennis seems to be on e&.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

Oh dear - that one episode of a legendary podcast where - try as I might - I cannot bring myself to appreciate or like the guest. But salams to the legend that is @amitvarma

[Amit Varma @amitvarma]

He describes himself as a dharmik skeptic, & has written a book about how atheism evolved within Hindu philosophy.

@kushal_mehra joins me in episode 382 of The Seen and the Unseen to discuss his intellectual evolution – & his journey as a podcaster: https://t.co/XcNNyFWhnY

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@Cleartrip I am trying to delete my account but Delete Account button on the app does not work. Please help.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@rta_dubai Can you please provide a complete and updated status of SZ road in both directions? Are previously closed sections now opened?

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@tod_tv @janniksin Pls fix the audio streams for the award presentation. Both tracks are in Arabic now - bring back english pls.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@tod_tv why is there no english audio for #AustralianOpen2024 finals trophy presentation? Please fix!

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@DXB @emirates exceptional customer service from Fadi at the Self Service Baggage drop just now at T3! Thank you Fadi - you assistance today made our day! @Bombay_girl

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@vfsglobalcare I am asking for information not your influence. I need an update on timelines. Call centre eve a don’t say anything further than ‘under process’ it’s been 9 days when it should be 6-7.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@vfsglobalcare I am struggling to receive an update re SA tourist visa app in Dubai. It’s been 9 days and I have travel scheduled in 1.5 days. Others have received their visas in 5 days. Please can someone contact me and provide an update.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@_eli_99 @BBCSport Lol. Hilarious how your cameras are unaware that the Prince of Denmark is sitting in Holger Rune’s box 😂😂

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@theliverdoc If @AyurvedaMonk considers himself a ‘qualified’ ‘doctor’, why resort to xenophopic derogatory slurs to defend his beloved (pseudo) science? Insecurity?

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@EmpirePodUK just finished up series 1 - devotee here! I wish you would have a reading list/show notes. Your glowing recos for books and films need a place to sit and be referred to.

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@tmtap my trial a/c is showing lots of quota exceeded in msg logs. I am happy to convert to paid a/c immed for an urgent job. Any chance someone can help me with this? :)

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@arjun_siva @HPIndia No other warranty proof? Other than the damn invoice? @hpindia being absolutely useless. We started this process for our retiree mother’s computer last month! What a shot show your operation is!!

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@arjun_siva @NordPass @norpass is there a sneaky term in you terms of usage that lets you share passwords publicly?

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@arjun_siva in 2004 i thought it was a boomer thing. Clearly it spans generations

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@soundopinions @GooseIsland Not more offensive than a typical radio ad. Just not used to hearing radio ads on the SO podcast- sounds very jarring and off brand for SO. Love all the host read ads!

[Siddharth Siva @sidsiva]

@soundopinions OMG! Terrible dubai radio ads on the podcast when listening on stitcher in Dubai. Worst ever! Happy to listen to your @GooseIsland ads but not this awfulness!