Anil Pande

Pakistan played the long game and it's paying off... A country Trump once accused of giving America "nothing but lies and deceit" is now hosting peace talks, delivering U.S. proposals to Iran, and getting praised by the president on Truth Social. The turnaround started with delivering the Kabul airport bomber, nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize, and rolling out the red carpet for his family's crypto venture. But Pakistan isn't doing this out of generosity. It shares a border with Iran, has a large Shia population that erupted in anti-American protests after Khamenei was killed, and signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia in September. That pact means Riyadh could theoretically ask Islamabad for military support, and Pakistan's border with Iran makes it the most logical staging ground if anyone ever seriously considers a ground invasion from the east. Playing mediator is Pakistan's way of staying indispensable to Washington while keeping Tehran friendly enough to avoid becoming a target. If peace talks succeed, Pakistan takes credit. If they fail and the war escalates, Pakistan's geography and Saudi pact make it impossible to ignore. Source: WSJ - @MarioNawfal

🙏 @RanveerOfficial @rampalarjun @duttsanjay @ActorMadhavan #AkshayeKhanna #SaraArjun @bolbedibol @AdityaDharFilms #JyotiDeshpande @LokeshDharB62 @jiostudios @B62Studios @TSeries @JioHotstar @StarGoldIndia

If terrorism had no religion, then how did the anti-Pakistan movie Dhurandhar become anti-Muslim?

Iran's ace in the hole hasn't been played yet... The Houthis are sitting on the Red Sea watching Saudi Arabia reroute oil through the only bypass left: the Yanbu pipeline to the Red Sea coast. That route passes directly along hundreds of miles of Houthi-controlled coastline and through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint the group already shut down once during the Gaza war. "Our finger is on the trigger," a senior Houthi official said this week. "Yemen joining the conflict is only a matter of time." Iran closed the front door at Hormuz. The back door runs right past Iran's most capable proxy. If Tehran gives the order, the Houthis can seal the Red Sea too, and suddenly there's no way to get Middle Eastern oil to anyone, anywhere, by any route. That's why Saudi Arabia is quietly working diplomatic channels to keep the Houthis out of this war. And it's why the U.S. and Israel are deliberately avoiding any provocation toward Yemen. The scariest part: analysts believe Iran is holding the Houthis in reserve deliberately, either as a final escalation card or as leverage in future negotiations. The war's most dangerous weapon has nothing to do with bombs... it's a phone call from Tehran to Sanaa that hasn't been made yet. Source: WSJ - @MarioNawfal

Moshe, Reilly, Sean and Rowan had been best of friends for over 10 years when unfortunately, Rowan is killed in a car crash. The next day, the three remaining friends are looking at Rowan’s body in his coffin. Reilly says, "You know, Rowan was such a great guy and friend to me that I don’t want him to go empty handed. I’m going to give him $1000." With that, he takes out $1000 in notes and throws them into the coffin. Then Sean says, "I agree with you. I’ll match your gift." And Sean throws $1000 in notes into the coffin. Moshe says, "I liked him more than you two, so I’m going to give him $2000." With that, Moshe writes out a cheque for $4000 throws it into the coffin and takes out $2000 change.

Here's the energy play nobody's saying out loud: The U.S. has massive LNG, and it's the world's #1 exporter right now, surpassing Qatar and Australia. It could reach Asia in far less time than competitors, with total freedom of navigation, no chokepoints, no disruptions. While Iran war shuts down Gulf supplies and spikes prices, Trump’s energy dominance just locked in $50B+ in new Indo-Pacific deals this weekend in Tokyo. This shifts Asia away from Mideast reliance. In 2026, energy dominance is the ultimate geopolitical weapon. Source: Bloomberg - @MarioNawfal

🚨 Lucknow - what a beautiful city ❤️

Israel is reportedly planning a major ground invasion of Lebanon. According to Axios, Israel plans to seize the entire area south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s infrastructure.

The Western Front: Kurds, Weapons, and Starlink While attention is focused on the Gulf, the pressure building on Iran's western border. U.S. and Israeli strikes in the Kurdish regions of western Iran have systematically targeted IRGC barracks, border posts, intelligence facilities, and internal security infrastructure. The bombing has been extensive enough that IRGC and border guard forces in parts of Kermanshah province have been forced to evacuate to civilian locations, including hospitals. Israeli air strikes along the Iraq-Iran border appear to have been deliberately structured to strip away the defensive infrastructure that would otherwise block Kurdish fighters from crossing into Iran. Iranian Kurdish opposition groups have thousands of fighters staged along the Iraq-Iran border. Five major parties unified in late February into a new coalition with the stated aim of toppling the Islamic Republic. The CIA has been in active discussions with those groups. Trump personally called Kurdish leaders in both Iraqi Kurdistan and the opposition parties. A senior Kurdish official told reporters: we believe we have a big chance now. Over the coming week, as the IRGC continues to pull back from border positions, expect two things to move through that corridor from the Iraqi side: weaponry and communications. Specifically Starlink. Iran has worked hard to suppress satellite internet access and maintain a communications blackout that keeps internal opposition fragmented and unable to coordinate at scale. That suppression effort is under pressure. It needs to break down entirely if opposition forces inside Iran are going to move from street level protest to coordinated military action. The regime has survived previous protest waves partly by keeping its opponents isolated from one another and from the outside world. That wall is cracking. And if it cracks all the way, the internal picture changes faster than any outside military operation can accomplish on its own. Who Actually Shows Up to Fight Let's talk about the bank, because the strike on Kharg Island hits the Iranian military in ways that go beyond symbolism. The bank that pays the military has been hit physically at the data center but also with a cyber attack. Cutting off the paychecks happens much faster if Kharg is seized. There are three distinct military structures propping up this regime: the IRGC, the conventional military, and the Basij. But within those structures there are really three kinds of people, and only one of them is going to fight to the last. Group One: The True Believers These are ideologically committed fighters who will not lay down arms until a figure they respect inside their own theological framework tells them to. A senior cleric. A regime authority they genuinely follow. For them this is not a job. It is a calling. Killing is not a problem of conscience for them. It is an act of revolutionary obedience. You are not negotiating with this group. You are waiting for them to lose their religious cover or their chain of command. Group Two: The Compromised Killers These are men who have crossed a line they cannot uncross. They have raped. They have murdered. They have dragged people out of their homes and tortured them for the regime. They do not keep fighting because they believe in the Islamic Republic. They keep fighting because they are terrified of what happens to them the moment it falls. Their neighbors know what they did. The families of the people they killed know what they did. Self-preservation has made them desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous. They will fight hard, but for themselves, not the revolution. Group Three: The Mercenaries This is the group that matters most right now. These are not mercenaries in the pejorative sense, but in the economic one. When Iran's currency collapsed, a government paycheck became one of the few stable incomes left in the country. An IRGC soldier was making somewhere around $150 a month before this war. Basij fighters were pulling in roughly $8 a day for project work. For context, a family of three in Iran needs at least $400 a month just to cover basic needs. These men were already underwater before a single bomb fell. And the regime was funding those paychecks, however inadequate, primarily through oil revenue. The IRGC did not just receive a government budget allocation. Under the arrangement in place before the war, it was directly assigned one-third of Iran's oil exports and allowed to keep the proceeds. That is the Guard's own revenue line. Kharg Island is not just the regime's economic lifeline. It is the Guard's payroll. Washington Institute researchers documented IRGC commanders complaining before this war that soldiers could not make ends meet, were taking second jobs, and in at least some cases were selling intelligence for cash. That was before a two-week bombing campaign, before oil hit over $100 a barrel, and before the terminal that generates the revenue was just stripped of its military infrastructure. Group Three is the largest of the three by a significant margin. And you will not need to miss many paychecks before a preference cascade begins. The trigger is not ideology. It is math. If the people who control the money are changing, if it is becoming clear that the other side is paying for defections and protecting those who come over, and if your own paycheck is going to bounce in the next cycle, then the calculus shifts. You start calculating whether you are backing a winner or a loser. And if the loser cannot protect you, cannot pay you, and cannot even confirm that your supreme leader is conscious, you start thinking about your family. The Play: Make Defection Visible and Safe The smart move for the coalition right now is propaganda that functions as an offer, not a threat. Early visible defections where regime soldiers are received, protected, and provided for, not executed and not humiliated. Show Group Three what the alternative actually looks like. Let word filter back through the networks that still exist even inside a communications blackout. You do not need to reach everyone. You need to reach enough that others start wondering what their colleagues are thinking. In less than a month, if this trajectory continues, Group Three may be looking at another missed paycheck on one side and a visible, survivable way out on the other. When that moment arrives, it is not impossible to see entire units within the mosaic defense simply stop showing up. Or worse for the regime, switch sides entirely. The true believers will fight to the end. The compromised killers will fight out of fear. But the mercenaries are running a calculation, and right now that calculation is changing fast. What This All Means What is unfolding here is a textbook example of deliberate pressure applied in stages. Strike the military node. Preserve the oil node for leverage. Deploy the force that makes the next step possible. Open the western corridor for weapons and communications. Give the enemy one last chance to reconsider. Meanwhile the economic pressure is real. Brent crude was above $100 a barrel on Friday, after a violent run upward since the war began. Markets are reading the same thing military planners are reading: Kharg and Hormuz are not side issues. They are the center of gravity. That is not improvisation. That is signaling with teeth. This is what strategy looks like when force, timing, and economic pressure are all pointed at the same target. - Clayton S Wood From Confusion to Clarity claytonswood .com

Shri #Kanchi Kamakshi Ambal Devasthanam- Brahmotsavam- Ashva vahanam- 28 Feb. 2026 #kamakoti

One of the many conclusions that are going to be drawn from the Maduro and Iran strikes is that neither Russia nor China can protect their allies from the United States. There's no way that sentiment won't lead to a profound shift in geopolitics. - @Babygravy9

India's quota system sometimes quotas American affirmative action as model. But race-based quotas were banned in 1978 in the US. On June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court ended the ability of colleges and universities to use race as a factor in admissions decisions.

The Kargil war. Enemy was at the gates. Sanctions were in place. And yet, ignoring US opposition, Israel supplied us critically needed ammo and laser-guided missiles that ultimately turned the tide in our favour. Thank you, friend.

Israeli officials are indicating the possible date for escalation with Iran - Thursday afternoon, after Modi's visit and after the meeting between Trump's envoys and the Iranian Foreign Minister. - 🇮🇱 @EliAfriatISR

I am deeply honoured to receive the Medal of the Knesset. I accept it with humility and gratitude. This honour is not a tribute to an individual, but to the enduring friendship between India and Israel. It reflects the shared values that guide our two nations. @KnessetENG

An update that many in the West rarely hear about: Reports indicate that Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF- Saudi sponsored) are training Somali militias in central Somalia. Why does this matter? Sudan has been in a brutal civil war since 2023 between the SAF and the RSF. While both sides have been accused of serious violations, international scrutiny has largely focused on the RSF. That raises an important question: why is there comparatively less accountability when allegations involve Sudan’s army? At the same time, regional dynamics cannot be ignored. Various external actors are involved across Africa, and their influence—whether political, financial, or military—deserves transparency and scrutiny. Somalia is a fragile state. Any foreign military involvement that strengthens militias rather than state institutions risks further destabilization. Accountability should be universal. Selective outrage only prolongs instability. For more details: geeska.com/en/sudanese-mi…

Who is a Historian? The India I grew up in, worshipped Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib etc etc. They were trained in research methods, critical theory had degrees in paleography, historiography and all things good. Yet, not one of their arguments stood in the court of law. In the Ram Mandir Case, these trained historians were taken to the cleaners by the court 😂 ⏩ Every Indian should read the Ram Mandir case and how trained historians fell flat on their face. @RahulDewanV2 @jsaideepak --- A glimpse of how emminent historians, made absolute fools of themselves: 1. Indian historians had always denied existence of any structure on Ram Janambhoomi. 2. FOUR historians — R S Sharma, Athar Ali, D N Jha, and Suraj Bhan, had written a report titled - ‘Historian’s report' saying there was no temple. 3. But they fell short in providing evidence in court. Each time their lies was caught, they invented new stories and shifted goal-posts. 4. When ASI started the excavations unearthed pillar bases and structural remains of a previous structure, the historians couldn't explain it. First: They said, Nah!! no ruins exist. 5. As excavations continued it became impossible to deny the existence of a previous structure. They shifted the argument : They said, Ahh!! okay Ruins exist, but they are not of a temple. 6. Thereafter they started the narrative: Actually maybe the ruins are planted. Really someone can plant ancient pillars?? 7. Later the eminent historians amended their story : maybe it's a Buddhist structure that existed here. 🤦🤦🤦 FINALLY THE COURT BASICALLY SAID : SHUT UP 😅😅 The Supreme Court of India ruled that the famous Historian’s Report was not reliable and all these eminent distortions were thrown out. The Allahabad High Court (2010) judgement is even more scathing than the Supreme Court. It openly called out historians for misleading assertions, and said : 1. The HC judgement exposed Selective scholarship: Scriptures like the Skanda Purana were dated incorrectly to suit arguments. 2. Wrong maps, wrong claims: Key locations like were misidentified, which was termed palpably wrong by the court. 3. The court said the report was written mainly to counter the case of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, not to present unbiased history. 4. These trained historians had ignored archaeologist B. B. Lal’s discoveries for years. 5. ASI’s director K. K. Muhammad said the dispute could have ended long ago if history hadn’t been distorted. Implying if these so called trained historians had done their job well. The reputation collapse for the "guardians of history" has been drastic. Their biases and incorrect representations came out in the court. --- WAY FORWARD ⏩ Maybe, just maybe we should take every history theory to a court of law. For immediate Action ⏩ Let's see if Aryan Invasion Theory stands in a court of law.

JK Rowling demands Keir Starmer is REMOVED as PM over his refusal to protect British women and girls: "From his newfound concern for victims of Mandelson's bestie to whether women can have penises and his U-turn on the Rotherham grooming gangs enquiry. Starmer out!" - @Inevitablewest

🚨 HUGE! RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat drops a BIG statement: "If Veer Savarkar is awarded the Bharat Ratna, the respect for that award will INCREASE."💥 The message is loud & clear. History is waiting. Justice is pending. Time for Modi Govt to DO THIS🔥👌🏼

THAT’S A WRAP. 🎬🔥 Last shot. Last call. Last hug. THE WIVES didn’t wrap quietly. It wrapped loud, proud, and earned. Respect to every face here — in front of the camera and behind it. This one’s locked. #TheWives #ItsAWrap