EditorialThe TT Take

India’s playbook for dissent has run out of pages

A Chief Justice called unemployed youth cockroaches. An exam sat by 22 lakh students was leaked, and some of them killed themselves. India's government waited, then delegitimised, then used force, then blamed Pakistan. Each step has failed.

At Khamenei’s funeral, Pakistan made a statement

Pakistan may have disagreements with Iran, and Iran may have disappointed Pakistan by leaning too warmly towards India at times. But neighbours who share borders must also share funerals.

New York has had enough of the old playbook

New York does not need another manager. It needs a mayor who understands who the city is really for—and who is willing to fight to make that true. We believe Zohran Mamdani is best placed to do that.

A handshake, a medal, and the choreography of realpolitik

Trump may not win the Nobel. Oslo may smile and move on. But Pakistan has already reclaimed what it truly sought: relevance. The gesture may seem excessive, but it’s a quiet re-entry into a room it refuses to be locked out of: a step back into Washington’s good graces.

The bloody parasitic imperial whore

In a world which rewards champagne exiles and punishes resistance, Khawaja Asif chose authenticity over platitude. In doing so, he said what much of the global south quietly thinks: those who bathe in imperial perfume do not speak for the oppressed.

A trio for the ages

They didn’t posture or perform. They didn’t arrive with placards or pleadings. This trio threaded law, loss, and logic with the calibration of those who knew the weight of what they represent and the silence which usually follows them into Western rooms; this time, they are refusing to let that silence survive.

جنگ کی چنگاریوں میں مؤثر سفارت کاری

جنگی ڈھول کی تھاپ پر نشے میں دھت دنیا کے اندر خاموش مصلحت اور غیر معمولی اعصاب کی ضرورت ہوتی ہے۔ بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے اقوامِ متحدہ میں مؤثر، مضبوط اور بااعتماد انداز میں پاکستان کا مؤقف اجاگر کر دیا ہے۔

Reason in a region addicted to fire

In a world drunk on the drumbeat of war, it takes uncommon nerve to whisper restraint. Yesterday, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari did just that—softly, firmly, devastatingly—from the podium of the United Nations.

اسحاق ڈار اور مؤثر ترین خاموش سفارتکاری

اکیسویں صدی کے سنگین ترین جنگی حالات میں اسحاق ڈار سٹیٹس مین کے طور پر دکھائی دیئے۔ داد و تحسین کیلئے مصنوعی بیانات اور لفظی جنگوں کی بجائے انہوں نے محتاط اور سنجیدہ رویہ اختیار کیا۔ ڈار کا انداز سفارتی ضوابط اور قومی وقار کا عکس تھا۔

Dar’s quiet line

Ishaq Dar, as Pakistan's foreign and deputy prime minister, resisted the urge, so common in crises, for maximalist posturing. He did not parade diplomatic telegrams for public approval. He did not pick Twitter fights. He kept Pakistan’s tone serious and sober.

Free of Britain, recolonised in saffron

In Narendra Modi, the RSS has found not just a leader but a messiah; one with the political cunning of an autocrat and the populist charisma of a televangelist. Under his watch, textbooks have been rewritten, history sanitised, minorities demonised, and a billion people convinced that all of this is progress.

پاک فضائیہ: فضاؤں کی بے تاج بادشاہ، جب دشمن کا غرور زمیں بوس ہوا

مئی 2025 کی ایک خاموش صبح، پاکستان ایئر فورس نے نہ صرف رافیل جیسے مہنگے بھارتی خوابوں کو زمیں بوس کیا بلکہ پوری دنیا کو یہ پیغام دیا کہ برتری شور سے نہیں، تیاری، نظم اور مہارت سے حاصل کی جاتی ہے۔ یہ صرف ایک فضائی جھڑپ نہ تھی یہ ایک نظریے کی شکست، اور ایک قوم کی عسکری حکمت کا اعلان تھا۔

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown

Showcasing its air superiority, the Pakistan Air Force outmanoeuvred and outclassed India’s French Rafales, shattering the illusion of Hindutva-fuelled dominance in South Asian skies, proving this latest cross-border skirmish wasn’t just a dogfight—it was the moment the PAF reclaimed its throne above the clouds.

Dassault’s Rafale raffle backfires for the Indians

India’s €7 billion Rafale programme suffered a severe credibility blow when three aircraft were reportedly downed during the cross‑border strikes, erasing some 2.6% in Dassault’s market value within hours. This reframes the Rafale from “game‑changer” to cautionary example, strengthening Pakistan’s diplomatic hand and undermining India’s deterrence strategy.