Saeed Afridi

It took almost a decade and a half since the discussion … but the Persianate Sphere (Turko-Persian Region as you preferred) seems to be re-emerging in a rendition of its relatively unstable pre-1750s form. @peterfrankopan Kudos for calling it out back then :)

If PakArmy aimed to dispel the widely accepted fear that Pakistan is the most dangerous &/or its military the most ill-disciplined of the nuclear club..this latest stunt is a resounding failure Pakistan will be a more dangerous state after the proposed amendment is passed 10/10

Resulting decision making bottleneck invested in a single person provides a terrifying prospect for Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine & escalation ladder in any future conflict … something Pak Military, & its civilian validators, seem to have ignored when proposing the amendment 9/n

“Pakistan is the most dangerous country among the nuclear powers” … “Pakistan’s military is the most ill-disciplined of the nuclear club” The above statements are oft repeated behind closed doors… & also the most misunderstood inside Pakistan (esp by its military) 1/n

Unstable nuclear power.. Pakistan’s politicians..from the left, right & religious parties..along with key judiciary, media, business/industrial elite.. & military itself…are supporting constitutional amendments akin to the 1933 Enabling Act What could possibly go wrong ? :)

@MrPamplemousse_ The nature &/or identity of the regime is now immaterial to this inevitability

Peripeteia Awful haste on part of Israel, accompanied by some terribly hamartian decision making in Washington have now left the world with the INEVITABLE prospect of not just a nuclear armed Iran … but a nuclear armed entire Northern Tier the question now is simply … when?

“This is one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the EU – the imposition of these so-called emergency measures...They should be lifted immediately...What threatens regional stability is aggressive Serbian nationalism". #Kosovo koha.net/en/arberi/hehi…

What kind of a serious commentator still argues for Western AEW&C cueing Chinese AAMs? How does it make sense even from a systems perspective, leave analysis. It’s one thing to read propaganda, entirely another to read serious analysts making these claims.

@MrPamplemousse_ In such a circumstance, authoritarian is left with ONLY ONE recourse to regain sympathies of the challenger’s support base & avoid civil unrest; Disguise “co-option” as “compromise” & vie to redirect support base's ire away from authoritarian & towards its abettors instead 6/6

@MrPamplemousse_ In almost all cases a threat(natural calamity or an existential external enemy) quantifies the real value & utility of the challenger’s support base for the Authoriatrian’s ability to cope with the threat(esp when this dwarfs any support mustered by authoritarian’s abettors) 5/n

In conventionally asymmetric conflicts,weaker powers (economy/military) aim to ensure the conflict is short,intensive & geographically limited to narrow bands or difficult terrain where they carry qualitative advantage in force deployment/mobility & precision standoff strikes 1/n