Tahir Ashraf

Biochemical Engineering | Environmental Biotechnology | Power-to-X | Carbon Capture

[Shehbaz Sharif @CMShehbaz]

Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

The official signing ceremony will be on Friday, 19 June in Switzerland.

We would like to thank the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran for their commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in this mediation effort, the great leadership of State of Qatar, for their support in reaching this agreement. I would also especially thank the visionary leadership of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Republic of Türkiye for their immense contributions in this regard.

With the agreement now in place, mediators will facilitate a series of meetings this week. These pre-implementation discussions will lay the foundation for the technical talks and the official signing ceremony.

@realDonaldTrump
@JDVance
@SecRubio
@SteveWitkoff
@SEPeaceMissions
@drpezeshkian
@mb_ghalibaf
@araghchi

[Tahir Ashraf @tahircpe]

How do we bridge the gap between syngas and the existing biogas grid?
Our latest research in the Biochemical Engineering Journal demonstrates how a two-stage trickle bed system offers the flexibility needed for #PowertoX implementation: https://t.co/3bRDzDertu
#Pyrolysis #Biogas

[Atif Mian @AtifRMian]

How Pakistan made the world over 3 trillion dollars richer

On April 7, the world edged toward Trump's 8pm ultimatum that "a whole civilization will die tonight." By mid-afternoon, Polymarket gave less than a 5% chance for a ceasefire. But then in a flurry of last-minute diplomacy led by Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif, ceasefire odds shifted from near-impossibility to 100%, as both U.S. and Iranian leadership publicly acknowledged the important role played by Pakistan.

The sharp shift in probability of ceasefire from near-zero to certainty, allows us to estimate cleanly the market value of Pakistan's successful diplomacy. There was a sharp jump of 2.9% in S&P500 around the ceasefire announcement. The reaction was similar the world over.

Global markets represent about $125T, so a 2.9% jump represents a gain of 3.6 trillion dollars for the world. Pakistan helped create TEN times its own GDP for the world!

For me, the best part is not the trillions of dollar, but seeing Pakistan on the world stage as a peace maker.

I hope Pakistan runs with this new identity by promoting peace not only abroad, but also at home. That means moving away from politics of division and exclusion, and treating every citizen as its own.

[Furkan Gözükara @FurkanGozukara]

Absolute bombshell on Al Jazeera. The US and Israel have deliberately bombed over 30 universities across Iran, assassinating professors in their homes and massacring over 60 students. Washington is systematically trying to destroy Iranian scientific progress.

[Mubashir Zaidi @xadeejourno]

A NATION'S SHAME....Pakistan now has world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children. 25.1 million children aged 5-16 not attending school. Punjab leading with 9.7m, Sindh 7.4m, KP 4.5m, Balochistan 3.5m: UNICEF #Pakistan #Education https://t.co/OcyNYaBpO1

[Ammar Rashid @AmmarRashidT]

Since there's a lot of wild speculation floating around on this topic, wanted to lay out my thoughts on Pakistan's attempts at mediation in the Iran war & the motivations behind them.

I think it's quite clear that Pakistan is trying to bring about an end to the war because it has deeply-held vested interests in both cessation of hostilities & the survival of the Iranian state.

If this drags on indefinitely, Pakistan's economy and people will suffer in unimaginable ways. Fuel may become a luxury, Gulf remittances & reserves may plummet, Pakistan will face mounting Saudi pressure to come to its defence, its sectarian fault lines could erupt into mass unrest and in the worst case scenarios of occupation & balkanization, it could find itself surrounded by the India-Israel nexus on all sides amid live nuclear risks & an economic breakdown.

Those opponents of the Pakistani government still spreading fantastical conspiracy theories about Pakistan secretly trying to undermine Iran because 'the regime is a Zionist agent' have let their political biases completely disconnect them from material reality.

That any Pakistan govt would actually *assist* Israel in dismantling a non hostile border state & effectively invite the phatherland & motherland to start jointly destabilizing our borders while the economy collapses is such an offensively ridiculous idea it doesn't even merit a refutation.

It's not even about which party or institution is in charge - any Pakistani govt would be forced to take similar steps in these existential circumstances out of pure national interest (whether they were effective or not).

Right now, such breathless rumor mongering despite substantial evidence to the contrary amounts to a conscious attempt to undermine the very fragile dialogue process that Pakistan is attempting as a last ditch effort before the situation spirals fully out of control (exactly as Israel wants, which is why it's furious at Pakistan rn). We shouldn't let our political allegiances completely overwhelm our commonsense to the extent that we actively start seeking widespread human destruction.

I've been a critic of the Pakistani establishment my whole life & think the current govt has obvious legitimacy issues, which is the cause of much of its domestic difficulties. But in this particular moment, its own survival instincts fully coincide with the needs of Pakistan (& the entire world other than Israel frankly) in the face of the world-historical catastrophe unfolding before us.

My hopes for the success of this peace effort are slim given the reality of US-Israeli duplicity & the hardening of the Iranian position. But the alternative if it doesn't - a prolonged war of attrition involving US ground troops, occupation & full fledged regional destruction & economic collapse - is something we must try to avoid at all costs.

Hoping for some sanity to prevail and for this Zionist-imposed crisis to come to an end before it becomes an unstoppable calamity.

[Hina Rabbani Khar @HinaRKhar]

Pakistan must stand its ground and be demonstrably and unapologetically pro peace and anti conflict. We ve suffered enough from endless wars & conflict on our borders to know the value of peace. Even if conventional thinking at the moment is pro militarisation & war.

[Zaigham Khan @zaighamkhan]

According to the report, the Afghan Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan had “profoundly impacted Pakistan’s security and stability”. “It provided the TTP with the means and motivation to significantly expand their geographic reach and operational efficiency, resulting in a considerable rise in violent extremism in the region.” https://t.co/5XtZ81flY3

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

U.S. missiles that hit Iran likely were fired from Gulf countries that have taken the brunt of Iranian drone and missile attacks—although none acknowledges allowing use of their land or airspace https://t.co/HEEF8hOZZo

[Ammar Rashid @AmmarRashidT]

As more facts emerge about Pakistan's recent strikes in Kabul, I think the following can be said with a reasonable degree of certainty:

1- While the Taliban's initial claims may have been exaggerated, it seems increasingly evident that a massive number of civilians in a rehab facility did indeed die as a result of the strike on Camp Phoenix. Irrespective of your views on this conflict, this is a horrific tragedy that objectively deserves condemnation and investigation, notwithstanding the broader context of & reasons for the war.

2- From the publicly available evidence - the footage of the explosion & the satellite imagery - it seems that the strike wasn't deliberate and the actual target struck was likely an ammunition depot or drone facility in Camp Phoenix, the secondary explosions from which caused the destruction of the rehab facility located nearby inside the camp.

There are certainly legitimate questions about the Taliban placing vulnerable individuals right next to a weapons dump inside a military camp during war but they do not absolve Pakistan of its responsibility to take every possible measure to ensure such massive risk to civilian life is avoided in the pursuit of military objectives.

I understand & agree with those who think the Taliban & TTP's ideological & militant irredentism is the primary cause of the current conflict. Am under no illusions about the necessity of fighting ruthless militant groups mowing down Pakistanis on a daily basis, whose attacks I've also lost friends & family to.

However, it is completely legitimate for people to ask whether regularly incurred human costs of this scale justify the current strategy (whatever people currently believe it is, everyone has a somewhat different idea). Massacres like these, even if unintentional, will inevitably & understandably dilute the moral justifications for prosecuting this battle.

Beyond concerns about the conduct of war, such questions become even more critical in the context of the current state of political polarization in Pakistan. We are already a very long way away from the political & societal consensus needed to effectively fight multiple insurgencies amid spiralling regional chaos. In 2014, we at least devised something resembling a plan that everyone was on board with. Today, there's no pretense of even working towards one, and people are expected to just trust where this is going.

Hope there can be some sober reflection on this crisis among decisionmakers over the Eid ceasefire. The government & military should substantively engage the broader political leadership in the country on the war & counter-insurgency. They should also seriously consider the recent mediation offers from China & Russia & involve neighbouring countries to work towards a long-term regionally-grounded settlement.

Prayers to the families of all civilians who lost their lives in Kabul, as well as those whose loved ones died in this week's attacks in Pakistan. Hope we can bring this horrific bloodletting to an end soon.

[Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar @mustafa_nawazk]

افغان عوام اور طالبان ایک نہیں۔ وہاں کے عوام بھی طالبان کی شدت پسندی اور جاہلیت کے ہاتھوں یرغمال ہیں اور ہمارے ہاں بھی ہزاروں افراد دہشت گردی کا شکار طالبان کے ہاتھوں ہی ہوئے۔ اِس حقیقت سے بھی انکار ناممکن ہے کہ اُن کو تھوپنے میں بھی ہمارا کردار رہا۔”غلامی کی زنجیروں “ سے لے کر ”طاقتیں تمہاری پر خدا ہمارا “ جیسے استقبالی بیانات بھی ہم ہی نے داغے۔

جہاں طالبان کو اُنھیں کی زبان میں جواب دینے کے سوا کوئی اور صورت ہی نہیں بچی تھی ، وہیں اگر آپریشن کے دوران ہم سے غیر قصداً غلطی ہوئی ہے جِس کے نتیجہ میں معصوم افغان شہریوں کی جانیں ضائع ہوئی ہیں تو ایک غیر جانبدار انکوائری کو تسلیم کرنے میں قطعاً کوئی حرج نہیں۔ عام عوام اور بے قصور لوگوں کو نشانہ بنانا طالبان کا وطیرہ تو ہو سکتا ہے پر ہمارا نہیں۔

[Mahwash Ajaz 🇵🇰 @mahwashajaz_]

A reminder why Pakistan is fighting this war.

[Secunder Kermani @SecKermani]

The world's focus is on the conflict with Iran

But in the Occupied West Bank settler attacks & restrictions on Palestinians are intensifying

We visited the village of Duma, its one exit / entrance has been closed off by the Israeli army

Settlers standing guard tried to stop us walking in

Clip from our latest report

With @EP_Lawrence @Stanleigh77

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Breaking News: The U.S. was responsible for a missile strike on an Iranian school, an ongoing military investigation found. The inquiry said the strike — which Iranian officials said killed at least 175 people — was the result of a targeting mistake. https://t.co/88FIdIJOQi

[Ron Filipkowski @RonFilipkowski]

Trump said this week that Iran was 2 weeks away from having a nuclear bomb. This is what he said in July.

[United Nations Geneva @UNGeneva]

Concerns are growing about health and environmental impacts of the attacks on oil depots in #Iran as toxic pollutants spread.

"Black and acidic rains are a danger for the population." - @who

"These attack sites do not appear to be of military exclusive usage." - @UNHumanRights

[Asad Rahim Khan @AsadRahim]

The guy at the Manufactured Consent desk hasn’t thought of a new line in years.

[Asad Rahim Khan @AsadRahim]

Iran war replaces Khamenei with Khamenei, just as the Afghan war and billions of dollars replaced the Taliban with the Taliban.

Supreme Dealmaker Trump has been played for a sucker by the Israelis, who finally found a president dumb enough (and Epstein'd enough) to invade Iran.

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

This is a picture of Tehran now. Covered in thick black toxic clouds of smoke, raining oil on 9 million people with cancerous polluted air entering every lung. People breathing this. Animals breathing this. Trees breathing this. A humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.

[Malala Yousafzai @Malala]

Today at the UN, I spoke about a hard truth: True justice does not defend the humanity of children in one place and ignore it in another.

I am devastated for families in Iran whose daughters left for school and did not return home. For parents in Gaza who buried their children beneath the rubble of their classrooms. For Afghan girls living under the brutal Taliban regime for nearly five years.

The Taliban have built a system that removes women and girls from education, work and public life. This is gender apartheid, and it is time for the world to recognise it and act to end it.

Speeches do not protect girls. But law, accountability and political courage can.

https://t.co/CSuwD8Y5lY