Karachi, Pakistan
Joined December 2011
75 years ago my late father worked the local coal mines in England to supplement tuition fees. Never take independence for granted. Pakistan zindabad. #PakistanAt75
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
On this Israeli election day, I’d recommend reading this extraordinary @haaretzcom interview with billionaire Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and once one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants. One of Lauder’s most striking conclusions: “I realized at the end of the day that Israel really didn't want peace, but they wanted dominance.” This is coming from someone who helped launch Netanyahu’s political career, introduced him to powerful figures in American politics and media, and secretly negotiated with Hafez al-Assad and Rafik Hariri on his behalf in the late 1990s. In one of the interview’s biggest revelations, Lauder says Netanyahu agreed to a comprehensive peace deal with Syria and Lebanon, including withdrawal from the Golan Heights, but ultimately refused to sign it for political reasons. “He chose politics over peace. He put his political future before the deal.” Now 82, Lauder describes his profound disillusionment with Israel’s direction. After decades of supporting Israeli and Jewish institutions, he has sold his Tel Aviv apartment, given away his Be’er Sheva property, and says he has no intention of returning to Israel. He warns that Netanyahu’s dependence on figures like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich is damaging Israel, alienating diaspora Jews and eroding support in Washington. The interview is also full of fascinating details about Lauder’s role in Netanyahu’s political rise. The two became close friends in the 1980s, when Netanyahu was Israel’s ambassador to the UN, speaking almost daily at times. Lauder says he introduced Netanyahu to speech coach Lilyan Wilder to improve his public speaking and, crucially, to Republican strategist Arthur Finkelstein, who would become instrumental in Netanyahu’s electoral success. When Netanyahu left New York to pursue a political career in Israel, Lauder threw him a farewell party attended by some of the most influential figures in American media and politics, including Rupert Murdoch and the head of the New York Times. Lauder recalls opening doors for Netanyahu and helping him cultivate the relationships that would underpin his rise to power. What makes this interview so revealing is that Lauder is no longtime critic of Israel. He had been a committed Zionist, a Republican power broker, and a man who spent decades financing Jewish institutions, cultivating relationships with Arab leaders, and pursuing diplomatic openings on Israel’s behalf. A fascinating read 👇 haaretz.com/israel-news/elec…
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
HSBC's "Sharia-compliant" fund invested more than $100m in companies linked to Israel's military, raising questions about where Muslims' savings and investments end up. Al Jazeera's @Lina_Serene explains.
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Happy Birthday Jinnah sb. Yes 20th October is the birth date recorded in his elementary school register according to his first official biographer Hector Bolitho.
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Don't rule out false flag op engineered by Mossad.
BREAKING: 5 men have been arrested in the UK near RAF Fairford, the airbase used by the US to strike Iran, on suspicion of explosive and terrorism offences. The UK had authorised US bombers there to hit Iranian missile sites accused of attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
Mashallah in 5 Years, Two times FBR team has visited our premises as we are sales Tax Registered and Filer. This time we asked if there is any other Factory in Wazirabad Registered & they Told None. While there are at least 5 more. They asked us to Visit the offics becs
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
I say this with the utmost seriousness as a scholar of international political economy: the rules-based international order is dead. At the UN General Assembly, Trump, in very casual language, talks about annihilating another country. The room stays quiet. No collective protest. No formal objection. And this goes far beyond rhetoric. The US *has* bombed Iran, in clear violation of international law. The US *has* kidnapped Venezuela's head of state and is in the process of looting the country's natural resources, in clear violation of international law. The US *has* tightened its blockade on Cuba, in clear violation of international law. Then there is, of course, the genocide in Gaza, for which the US has provided unconditional support. After World War II, the US was one of the primary architects of a system meant to encourage global cooperation. But the US has consistently broken that system's rules to advance its imperial interests. The system has therefore lost all its legitimacy.
Trump to the UN: "Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly? Do I drive them into hell?"
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
It's always strange how the US uses its unparalleled military and economic power to strangle and suffocate the economies of small nations it dislikes, then points to the intended devastation as proof that those countries are bad and don't work, with no reference to the US role.
The Cuban delegation walks out of the speech while Trump calls their country a failed state.
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
کوہاٹ حملے میں شہید ایس پی ٹریفک اکبر شنواری کو ان کے معصوم بیٹے کا سلام، پوری قوم کا سلام۔ #Kohat
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
Extraordinary journalism from @NewYorker, on Jared Kushner's catastrophic diplomacy, conflicts of interest, arrogance. He represents "a new kind of Washington figure, for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth" newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
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The system’s failure to deliver is not imagined – and Karachi is its poster child. But the remedy is to fix the grievance, not to multiply provinces. My article in todays paper. What’s wrong with new provinces? thenews.pk/print/1436665-wha…
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
A routine stop at a Lahore petrol pump reportedly turned violent when a Mercedes driver allegedly assaulted a worker and threatened him with an assault rifle. The incident has sparked fresh questions about how power and privilege can translate into intimidation, especially when those on the receiving end are simply doing their jobs. Beyond one disturbing encounter, the episode highlights a deeper concern: when will ordinary workers feel protected from the alleged abuse of influence and entitlement?
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Excellent article on the simple solutions to overcome the misery of travelling through Pakistan's airports. share.google/pkFlQO5SObIyTe0…
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
If we are really to call this the weakest Pakistan side ever, we must necessarily preface it by saying they are the product of the worst administrative period in Pakistan's history - Osman Samiuddin cricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-pa…
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Resetting the system dawn.com/news/2024064 Having served as deputy secretary of the One Unit Reorganisation Committee, Dr. Ishrat Husain knows what redrawing provinces actually costs. His caution on the 12/32 provinces proposal is timely: fiscal consolidation strained, the NFC further complicated, years consumed by administrative reshuffling. The better reset is devolution to empowered local governments, not new provincial capitals.
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Zahid F. Ebrahim retweeted
A must read thread on how the supply chain of disinformation to sabotage US Iran talks works: the origin and spread of IRGC Commander Vahidi’s fabricated quote on nuclear weapons
An incredible expose by Ronen Bergman shows how Israel invents quotes from Iranian officials in order to manufacture "evidence" that Iran is building nuclear weapons. This event took place on August 5th, when it was reported globally that Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the IRGC had admitted that Iran was developing nuclear weapons. The only problem? It wasn't true: 1) Netanyahu's pet network in Israel, Channel 14 spent months building Vahedi up as "the strongest man in Iran," priming audiences to treat any dramatic quote from him as coming from Iran itself. In reality, he is one power player among several. 2) An Indian Hindu nationalist account posts an earlier fabricated quote from Vahedi that says that nuclear weapons are a "necessity" for Iran. It does not get much traction. 3) The same account publishes a quote saying that Vahedi stated that Vahedi said that Iran will keep developing nuclear weapons as long as the US and Israel have them. There was no source. 4) The Mossad Commentary account, a large account with no affiliation to the actual Mossad posted the quote in English. 5) Channel 14, a mere 33 minutes later, covers this and claims that this is "the first time" an Iranian official directly admitted to building a nuclear bomb. 6) Three minutes later Yair Netanyahu, son of the Prime Minister, retweets Mossad Commentary, then three minutes later retweets Channel 14 English, followed later by Israel War Room. 7) Two hours later, Netanyahu senior cites the fabricated quote in an official speech at Mount Herzl, now the made up Tweet had become state policy. 8) The Tweet makes it to the US, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz shares it saying that Iran is "finally admitting what was clear for years," then deletes it without explanation. 9) Mark Levine shares it and then Fox News reports it as fact, including an on-screen headline. 10) Channel 14 now reports this again with FOX and Netanyahu as the source. Mossad Commentary, the original source of the English version, now cites Channel 14 as its source, completing a circular citation loop. 11) Israel's Foreign Ministry spreads Netanyahu's remarks to Persian-speaking audiences. 12) Indian news agency ANI reports the story back in India, attributing it to "Israeli media," completing the round trip. This is a well oiled machine of disinformation emanating from Netanyahu and his circle designed to create a false narrative which will destroy negotiations with Iran and renew the war. Similar frauds have been perpetrated in the past like the Jewish Chronicle/Bild affair, when a made up journalist planted stories in the press to justify blowing up a hostage deal with Hamas. But this time he is dragging the entire world into endless war and not just Israel.
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dawn.com/news/2020478/pcb-mo… To the youth: you deserve merit and system reset not laptops. To the Pakistan Information Commission: PCB's budgets, audits and expenditure published for decades are now confidential. See you in the IHC. A system reset that exempts the resetter isn't a reset. It is the system.
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