V @void_orbit

Nobody ever said you can't use animals for plot twists. ​#FatteningThemUp ​#PreppingTheMainCourse ​#ForbiddenSnacks ​#MeatAndGreet ​#FreshIngredients #NaturePhotography #DarkHumour #DarkHumor

@void_orbit Strong nations don’t fear diversity — they manage it wisely. Secularism is the wisdom part.

Sad thing is, no one ever talks about the Ecological Impact of war 😓

The Hormuz Letter @HormuzLetter

2 days ago

BREAKING: Footage shows Iranian island beaches completely black with oil after multiple tankers exploded in the Strait of Hormuz.

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This is such a well written post for all those who seem to have forgotten IK’s rule or choose to believe what he did was right. I hate his politics partly because of these but mostly because he wasted once in a generation opportunity to bring about real change, curb dynastic politics and become a leader organically instead his selfishness reversed the little democratic progress Pakistan made by many decades. A true disappointment by every measure.

V @void_orbit

a day ago

The Selective Outrage and Hypocrisy of IMRANCELS There is a a core inconsistency in the rhetoric of many Imran Khan/PTI supporters. Imran Khan faces imprisonment and legal cases his supporters decry it as political persecution, an assault on democracy, and a human rights

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The Selective Outrage and Hypocrisy of IMRANCELS There is a a core inconsistency in the rhetoric of many Imran Khan/PTI supporters. Imran Khan faces imprisonment and legal cases his supporters decry it as political persecution, an assault on democracy, and a human rights violation. A fair accurate analysis that can be made, yet during Khan’s tenure as prime minister (2018–2022), his government and aligned forces oversaw arrests, abductions, harassment, assaults, and legal pressure against political opponents, journalists, student activists, and critics, with not pipsqueak from Imran Khan supporters about this conduct. Yes Imran Khan should receive due process, a fair trial, and healthcare access but how can Imran Khan supporters take a moral high ground was when he was in power he used similar tactics were used against others? These criticisms existed concurrently with Khan's government, they were not invented after his ouster. This pattern of selective outrage is not unique to Pakistani politics, but the documented record from Khan’s years in office provides concrete examples. Pressure on Journalists and Media Under the PTI Government. Press freedom deteriorated notably during this period. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) included Imran Khan among the world's "predators of press freedom" in its 2021 report, citing restrictions, threats, administrative pressure, and economic measures that forced layoffs of independent journalists. Pakistan’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index declined. Freedom Network documented dozens of cases of threats, attacks, and harassment against journalists in Islamabad alone between 2018 and early 2022. Specific cases included: Matiullah Jan(journalist): Abducted in broad daylight in Islamabad in July 2020 by unidentified armed men and released after about 12 hours. He was known for critical reporting on state institutions. Asad Ali Toor(journalist): Assaulted in his Islamabad apartment in May 2021 by three unidentified men who left him injured; the incident was widely seen as linked to his criticism of state institutions and military influence. Absar Alam (former PEMRA chairman): Shot and wounded while walking near his home in April 2021. Bilal Farooqi (Express Tribune editor): Arrested in 2020 on charges related to social media posts allegedly defaming the military; he faced PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) and related provisions. Shahzeb Jillani and others: Faced FIA arrests or probes under PECA for reporting on sensitive topics such as enforced disappearances or criticism of institutions. Additional pressure included FIA inquiries against journalists over social media posts (e.g. related to the Saudi crown prince's visit), removal or suspension of critical anchors and programs, cable distribution disruptions for channels airing opposition views, and online harassment campaigns, sometimes amplified by government-linked accounts, against women journalists and critics. Human Rights Watch noted in its reporting covering 2019 that the government intensified clampdowns on media, with regulatory actions blocking or restricting critical channels and programs. There was targeting of Political Opponents, Activists, and Dissenters. The PTI government registered sedition cases and used other laws against critics: Activists linked to the Student Solidarity March (demanding restoration of student unions), including academic-turned-politician Ammar Ali Jan and student activist Alamgir Wazir, faced sedition charges. Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) figures faced PTI's authoritarian measures too, most notably civil rights activist Manzoor Pashteen, and others faced arrests, sedition cases, and restrictions on gatherings for highlighting enforced disappearances and rights issues in Pashtun areas. Protests against Pashteen’s arrest also led to sedition bookings. PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) was used of PECA for "cyber terrorism," defamation, or "hate speech" against critics, plus Maintenance of Public Order and other provisions for detentions. Mainstream opposition party politicians were not exempt from Imran Khan's unyielding iron fist. I have never been a supporter of PML-N or the PPP but many of their politicians were arrested and imprisoned during Imran Khan’s PTI government politically motivated actions. Nawaz Sharif was arrested and imprisoned after returning to Pakistan in July 2018 and remained in custody into 2019. Maryam Nawaz was arrested in July 2018 alongside her father. she was arrested again on 8 August 2019 by NAB. Shahbaz Sharif was arrested on 5 October 2018, he was eleased on bail in February 2019. He was then arrested again on 28 September 2020 and held for several months until bail in 2021. Hamza Shahbaz (Shahbaz Sharif’s son) was held in custody for about 20 months up to February 2021. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (former Prime Minister): Arrested by in July 2019 and was released in February 2020. Rana Sanaullah (senior PML-N leader was in July 2019 on drug-smuggling charges. Ahsan Iqbal (senior PML-N leader): was arrested in December 2019. PPP Politicians faced Imran Khan's wrath too. Asif Ali Zardari was arrested on 10 June 2019. He was held for roughly six months before bail. Faryal Talpur (Zardari's sister, PPP leader) was also targeted and investigated/detained at the same time. Syed Khursheed Shah (senior PPP leader was arrested by NAB in September 2019 in an assets-beyond-means case and spent over two years in custody. Agha Siraj Durrani (Sindh Assembly Speaker) was arrested in February 2019. Sharjeel Memon (PPP leader) was arrested/held in bail issues in October 2018. These actions occurred alongside a climate in which critical voices faced intimidation, self-censorship, and, in some cases, physical attacks whose perpetrators were rarely held accountable. Human Rights Organisations documented and condemned these patterns at the time. There was a intense growing crackdown on free expression, media pressure, and use of vague laws against dissent under the PTI government. Amnesty International and others raised concerns over civic freedoms, arbitrary actions, and the use of sedition and related charges against peaceful protesters and activists (e.g., in the student and PTM contexts). CIVICUS assessed that after three years in power, Khan had overseen an assault on civic freedoms, including criminalisation and abduction of journalists and restrictions on reporting. Reporters Without Borders and local groups like Freedom Network and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) tracked attacks, abductions, and the overall decline in media space. When the same tools such as arrests under broad laws, pressure on media, detentions of opponents have been applied to Khan and PTI figures after 2022, many of his supporters frame it exclusively as unique tyranny. The record shows continuity in Pakistan’s political culture of score-settling rather than a sudden invention. Demanding due process and fair treatment for Khan is legitimate. Conveniently ignoring Khan's own government's record of similar tactics against journalists, student activists, and PTM leaders undermines credibility. Consistent principle would mean condemning authoritarian methods regardless of who holds power. Selective silence when 'your side' benefits, followed by loud outrage when the roles reverse, is the definition of the hypocrisy. Pakistan's cycle of political victimisation harms everyone. Breaking it requires applying the same standards across the board.

Supporting the Sharifs is peak self-own energy, the whole country is watching you simping for a family that turned "accountability" into a synonym for "how much did you loot this time?" while calling yourself an intellectual. Joke assassin? More like joke victim. @mujhecryaraha

@saladinalmahdi When you insult the person, instead of a point-by-point breakdown and refutation then you've already lost the argument, and shown your intellectual inferiority.

ON TAQIYYAH Even though nearly all Muslims are unfamiliar with the term taqiyyah, and have never encountered it in formal religious education or everyday conversation, nearly all of them engage in a closely related practice when speaking to a non-Muslim audience about Islam. The goal is usually the same: to make Islam sound more palatable, moderate, peaceful, and compatible with contemporary progressive values. The first time nearly every Muslim will probably encounter the actual word taqiyyah is when someone on the far right deploys it as a polemical talking point, often in an exaggerated or conspiratorial way. Yet even without knowing the technical term, nearly every Muslim, when addressing non-Muslims, instinctively presents a very sanitised, cuddlier, fluffier version of the religion, one that softens or omits its harsher legal, historical, or doctrinal elements. This sanitisation is not unique to Islam or to its defenders. Consciously and subconsciously, people of many ideological, religious, or philosophical viewpoints frequently present their beliefs in the most favourable light possible when speaking to outsiders. That is ordinary human social behaviour. Christians may emphasise the Sermon on the Mount while downplaying Old Testament accounts of warfare or historical church violence when addressing secular listeners. Nationalists may stress cultural pride and continuity while glossing over episodes of conquest or exclusion. The impulse is nearly universal: to protect the reputation of the in-group's belief system, reduce friction with the out-group, and avoid handing critics easy ammunition. In the specific case of Islam, this pattern appears with particular frequency in public discourse in Western countries. Islamic apologists often assert that “Islam means peace”, when the meaning of the word is "submission". They routinely describe jihad as primarily an inner spiritual struggle, even though the overwhelming majority of references in the most authoritative authentic hadith collections, such as Sahih al-Bukhari, concern armed struggle, fighting non-Muslims, rewards for combatants and martyrs, rules of warfare, and related military themes. When speaking to non-Muslim audiences, they may attribute the criminalisation of blasphemy to colonial-era British influence, yet among Muslim audiences, or in more candid settings, they often affirm full support for state-imposed blasphemy punishments, including the death penalty, citing unambiguous hadith in support. Likewise, the Qur'anic phrase "there is no compulsion in religion" is frequently quoted to non-Muslims as evidence of inherent tolerance, while the same people, when addressing different audiences, may defend the killing of apostates in an Islamic state, arguing that apostasy constitutes a form of treason warranting capital punishment. To conclude, while the formal doctrine of taqiyyah remains unknown to the vast majority of Muslims, a closely analogous pattern of selective presentation is commonplace when addressing non-Muslim audiences. Many instinctively soft-pedal or reframe the more contentious legal, historical, and doctrinal elements of Islam so that the religion appears milder, more spiritual, and more compatible with contemporary progressive norms. This is not a uniquely Islamic habit; comparable forms of reputation management occur across religious and ideological groups. Nevertheless, it is particularly frequent and consequential in public discussions of Islam, where the gap between the sanitised outward account and the fuller traditional sources is often substantial.

Religious dogma requires abandoning rational thought to preserve a sacred irrational narrative. Surviving days inside a mammal's stomach ignores elementary science like anoxic environments and digestive acids. Maybe Allah stocked Yunus/Jonas with a lifetime supply of antacids.

@ItsLulu_7 During the Great Depression FDR didn’t save America, as we were taught, he saved capitalism 😩I hope we don’t fall for it again as the stakes are much higher now with the collapse of the environmental systems that support life on Earth

The Objectives Resolution in 1949 stated these main objectives: Sovereignty of Allah: Sovereignty over the universe belongs to Allah, while authority is exercised by the people as a sacred trust. Islamic principles: Justice should be observed according to Islam. Islamic way of life: Muslims should be enabled to live according to the Quran and Sunnah. You left that all out @_Urfee

@drskeptick agree

@cyborg_reborn 🔥

@athiestboi God's mum.

Weren't you campaigning for America to leave? @Nazranausufzai Under US control Afghanistan between 2001-2021 millions of girls got the right to go school. By 2021, approximately 3.5 to 3.7 million girls were enrolled in school, according to organisations such as UNICEF. The U.S. supported the construction of schools, teacher training, and scholarship programs for girls, helping millions of Afghan children, especially girls gain access to education. During the U.S.-backed government period in Afghanistan, legal protections for women were expanded in areas under government control. The 2009 Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law criminalised acts including domestic violence, forced marriage, child marriage, rape, and other forms of abuse. Under the U.S.-backed Afghan government, the Afghan Constitution reserved at least 27% of seats in the lower house (Wolesi Jirga) for women. Women also served as ministers, judges, governors, and civil servants. Under the U.S.-backed Afghan government, women were able to vote in the 2004 presidential election, the first nationwide election after the fall of the Taliban. The 2004 Constitution guaranteed universal suffrage, giving women the legal right to vote and run for public office. Women were given opportunities to work: After 2001, Afghan women gained greater access to jobs outside the home, including roles in government, education, healthcare, media, and business, compared with the restrictions imposed during Taliban rule.

Nazrana Yousufzai @Nazranausufzai

a week ago

This 15 August, the Taliban will complete five years in power in Afghanistan. In the beginning, they claimed that girls’ schools would reopen once the security situation improved. Five years later, that promise remains unfulfilled. It seems they would never admit they have

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@PharmVsk @mnali 60th most beautiful, 1st in delusional patriotism.

PAKISTAN NEEDS SECULARISM Pakistan should treat citizens of all religions and beliefs, and those with no religions or beliefs, equally and should make laws primarily through democratic processes rather than through the preferences of one religious belief or one religious denomination. Citizens' rights should not depend on religious identity. Secularism will reduce discrimination and make Pakistan safer for minorities. Secularism will reduce sectarian tensions and identity conflicts. Secularism is a way for a diverse place to unite people with different beliefs. When states avoid using religion as a political tool, it becomes harder for groups to claim that they alone represent the "true" faith or to justify violence against opponents. A secular legal framework will help separate religious disagreement from state power. Secularism will allow people to freely practise whatever religion they like while keeping the country's institutions neutral. Secularism is not hostile to Islam or the privatisation of all religious expression. It means the state does not enforce one interpretation, does not allocate citizenship rights by faith, and does not use public institutions to promote a particular theology. Personal piety, mosque-building, religious education, and voluntary Islamic practices remain free. A Muslim can perform all five pillars of Islam in a secular state. To run a country based on one religion's laws itself cannot work. The question is then raised of which interpretation of the religion should we follow. A state that claims to be "Islamic" still has to make choices about which interpretation becomes law. Islam has many schools, denominations, and legal traditions. Different denominations disagree on issues like the role of religious scholars in government, the rights of minorities, criminal law, women's legal status, democracy and elections, and economic policy. Article 31 of the Constitution of Pakistan says Pakistan should promote the Islamic way of life. Pakistan should promote a pluralistic way of life based on universal human rights rather than personal religious beliefs. Religious institutions should handle personal spiritual matters. For Pakistan to progress, it needs rational governance, where public policy and laws are based on evidence, science, and the common human good instead of subjective theological doctrines. The current framework has allowed for the concept of blasphemy to blossom. Blasphemy laws (especially Section 295-C) and related provisions have been widely abused for personal vendettas, land grabs, and minority persecution, producing mob violence, extrajudicial killings, and a climate of fear that harms Muslims as well as non-Muslims. A secular legal order would treat speech and belief disputes through ordinary criminal and civil law rather than religious offence categories. It is also time to rename Pakistan the "Republic of Pakistan", instead of the "Islamic Republic of Pakistan". Incorporating a specific religion into the official name of a country inherently compromises the principle of equal citizenship. The name explicitly links state identity to one religion, implying that non-Muslim citizens are secondary or less authentic members of the nation. A modern republic should belong equally to all its people, meaning the state apparatus should remain neutral on matters of personal faith. The name "Islamic Republic of Pakistan" alienates millions of Pakistani citizens, including Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Atheists, and Ahmadis, by making the national identity inherently exclusive. Pakistan's initial creation was driven primarily by concerns among many Indian Muslims about their safety and minority rights in a future Hindu-majority India, rather than by a plan to operate as a theocratic state with a theological blueprint. Pakistan wasn't made to be a state for the supremacy of one religion or one religious denomination which then curtails the rights of minorities. In Jinnah’s 11 August 1947 Constituent Assembly speech he explicitly envisioned a state where religion would be a personal matter and citizens would be equal regardless of faith. Let's go back to that Pakistan.

Religion is a man-made a tool of control and pacification. A irrational system of domination, not just a soothing painkiller. It functions as a framework for mind control and imposition, with guilt as a tool to control people. It demands submission and often relies on threats rather than evidence. Truths should never need threats of violence or death for disbelief.