The ‘Digital Terrorists’ Of Pakistan – OpEd

An army with a state

In her seminal piece titled “Pakistan-from hybrid-democracy to hybrid-martial law” published in the 2019 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistan born and UK based leading expert on the Pakistan armed forces made some very pertinent and precise observations of how the all-powerful Pakistan army was continuing its subtle subversion of the country’s constitution with renewed vigour. One of her prognostications was – “The military is keen to generate a new national discourse in which the army’s position is considered synonymous to the state.” [Emphasis added].

In Issue 30 Of Its Urdu-Language Magazine ‘Taliban,’ Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Rejects Pakistan Army Narratives, Says Pakistan Is World’s Largest Jihadi Front: ‘TTP Is Striving For An Islamic Welfare System In The Country’

In the latest issue of its Urdu-language magazine “Taliban,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) eulogizes slain fighters, argues that it is ahead of the Pakistani military in building narratives in the eyes of Pakistani audiences, frames Pakistani military leaders as those who monopolize resources and obstruct the establishment of Islam, and says that the TTP should not be viewed as a terrorist group but as an Islamic jihadi group striving for an Islamic welfare system.

Reza Seraj

Position: Unknown, former Head of the Special Operations Division (Division 4000) in IRGC’s Intelligence Organization (replaced by his former deputy Javad Ghafari).

Background: He is behind multiply failed attempts to assassinate and kidnap Israelis in the last months in places like Turkey, Cyprus, and UAE.

The Russo-Ukrainian War And Mackinder’s Heartland Thesis – Analysis

In 1904, Sir Halford J. Mackinder, one of the founders of classical geopolitics, conceptually divided the world into three parts: the pivot area of northeastern and central Eurasia, the surrounding area of an inner crescent of remaining Eurasian and North African territories, and an outer crescent of all the remaining oceanic countries. His notion was that any malicious power able to organize the defined pivot area, which became known as the ‘Heartland,’ and accumulate sufficient highly mobile manpower, inevitably becomes aggressive toward its neighbors on all sides.

The Truth About Ukraine’s NATO Membership

The fact that some of the top Western diplomats and leaders and the overwhelming majority of people of Ukraine had opposed NATO membership should be better known

As the Ukraine crisis continues to escalate and the possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and USA/NATO also increase, it is important that some facts not generally raised in western mass media should be more widely known in the west and also internationally.

When it comes to Iran’s rulers, there can be no dialogue

Ruling mullahs duly rolled into New York City to attend the U.N. General Assembly, led by Iran’s new “moderate” president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

Two years have passed since the murder of Jina (“Mahsa”) Amini, a young Kurdish-Iranian woman, at the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s morality police. Amini was brutalized and killed for allegedly wearing her hijab, or head-covering, improperly—the sort of “crime” that sends a backward theocracy apoplectic with rage. Her death sparked the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, the latest and perhaps most significant wave of protest among the millions of ordinary Iranians who have been clamoring for regime change for well over a decade, but who have so far been unable to dislodge the ruling mullahs.

Charting the Future of Organised Crime – and the UK’s Response

As the face of crime continues to evolve in an age of rapid digital innovation, how must the UK’s law enforcement agencies adapt in order to respond effectively?

Last month the National Crime Agency (NCA) published its National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). It highlights each of the threats the Agency is focused on tackling, from firearms and drugs to child sexual abuse, modern slavery, human trafficking and economic crime. For the first time ever, the top headline this year is not about criminal behaviour; rather, it is about how much more vulnerable we all are to becoming victims. Changes in organised crime are being driven, more than anything else, by our routine dependence – in our personal and working lives – on online services. Indeed, the majority of crime now occurs online or is enabled by online resources. We have all become more vulnerable to organised crime as a result of living more of our lives online.