Trump mocks Mamdani's appearance after NYC primary upset
In his posts on Truth Social, Trump attacked Mamdani's appearance and intelligence, and ridiculed his Democratic allies, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He referred to Mamdani as 'a 100% Communist Lunatic' and mocked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as 'our Great Palestinian Senator,' claiming Schumer was 'groveling' before Mamdani.
Mamdani, who has represented Astoria in the State Assembly since 2021, is running on a platform that includes free city bus service, a rent freeze on stabilized apartments, and city-operated grocery stores—funded by a proposed $10 billion tax increase on corporations and high-income earners.
His strong pro-Palestinian stance has brought foreign policy into the local race. Mamdani has led chants at pro-Palestinian protests and endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He also stated that, if elected mayor, he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during any visit to New York, citing International Criminal Court warrants issued in November 2024.
Mamdani's campaign is likely to draw national focus as a referendum on progressive leadership in the country's largest city. Trump's swift and aggressive response signals that Republicans may use the race to spotlight what they describe as the Democratic Party's shift toward far-left politics.
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Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Pivoting between geopolitics and geo-economics
Listen to article When Field Marshal Asim Munir walked out of the White House after the recent luncheon with President Trump, it was apparent that the Pak-US relationship was taking another tactical shift. This relationship has seen numerous highs and lows in the past. However, the recent war-like situation between Pakistan and India and President Donald Trump's role in the ceasefire have unfolded events unexpectedly. Lately, Pakistan seems to have navigated its relations well with both the US and China. The country now stands at a crossroads: whether to continue with a familiar path of transactional geopolitics or commit to geo-economics as mentioned in the National Security Policy (2022-2026). Not long ago, Pakistan was almost written off for its strategic importance by the policymakers in Washington, DC, after the fall of Kabul. From being a close ally, Pakistan had overnight become almost insignificant for the Biden administration to give a call back to the Pakistani authorities or even to get a mention in the US's National Security Strategy. So much so that Pakistan had to go through tougher conditions while seeking bailout packages from the IMF and was subject to harsher rhetoric. Nevertheless, the situation has changed significantly after the Indo-Pak military clash of May 2025. On April 22, 2025, a terrorist incident resulted in 26 tourists losing their lives in Pahalgam. Reports also claim that this attack was religiously motivated. Such a tragedy deserves utmost condemnation, and those responsible must be punished for their brutal actions. India's knee-jerk response was that Pakistan was somehow behind this attack, and therefore, the decades-long Indus Water Treaty, which had survived through the worst of the Indo-Pak relations, was suspended. Subsequently, India also launched a series of attacks on several Pakistani cities on the pretext of targeting the terrorist hideouts only. For the next two days, the situation between India and Pakistan remained extremely tense. Both attacked each other's multiple military facilities and neutralised drone incursions, while Pakistan, with the help of Chinese technology, downed multiple Indian fighter jets. Eventually, mediated by the US, both countries reached a ceasefire agreement, but the threat still looms as PM Modi has insisted that Operation Sindoor will continue if there is any other terrorist attack in India. Whether keeping South Asian peace a hostage with such statements is good or bad, one thing is clear: after the ceasefire, Pakistan's profile on the international political front has witnessed a significant rise, something totally against New Delhi's policy of isolating Pakistan internationally. Post-ceasefire, Pakistan's relations with China have reached new highs. For Pakistan, China has emerged as one dependable partner. China, on the other hand, fully supported Pakistan's retaliation against Indian attacks. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that Pakistan is an "ironclad friend" and vowed to deepen the "all-weather strategic cooperative partnership." It must also be noted that the use of Chinese defence technology appeared as free marketing, since after the ceasefire, China's defense stocks have surged. Presently, what still remains a matter of concern for both is the security of Chinese personnel and investments in CPEC. Pakistan, therefore, must ameliorate threats from sub-nationalist movements. Pakistan's relations with the US have also taken a stark turnabout. President Trump has taken the credit for the ceasefire a number of times, although India, the US's most allied ally in South Asia, has refuted such claims repeatedly. He then offered to mediate for the long-overdue Kashmir issue, again upsetting India. And lately, the US Department of State issued a travel advisory to "exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism." All these developments, along with President Trump's invitation to Field Marshal Asim Munir, have left the Indian side quite disgruntled. Many argue that the lunch meeting was also crucial because of the Israel-Iran conflict, but whatever the reason may be, Pakistan must be in a state of euphoria over these happenings. One must also recall that Pakistan has served as US strategic partner in the past. During the Cold War, Pakistan was an active member of the capitalist camp against communism in South Asia; it played a crucial role against the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan; and it was the US strategic partner during the war on terror. But as denoted appropriately, the Pak-US relationship has remained 'transactional' in nature, and Pakistan has repeatedly complained of being abandoned as soon as US interests change. Following the same pattern, Pakistan was cast off after the fall of Kabul in 2021, too. Hence, it must remain wary in the future as well. Considering the post-ceasefire events, Pakistan may again be lured to find solutions to its internal and external crises in forming strategic partnerships, especially with the US. Previously, Pakistan has leveraged its geographical location for geopolitical gains, but apart from temporary relief, it has only guided towards much deep-rooted problems. The country gravely suffers from growing poverty, economic inequality, policy discontinuity, unemployment, poor education and healthcare facilities, etc. The current situation presents Pakistan with a dilemma: whether it would keep using its strategic advantage for temporary gains or realise the vision of geo-economics that the country's National Security Policy introduced in January 2022. Becoming a melting pot for global economic interests through strengthening regional connectivity and development partnerships will help Pakistan address its structural problems related to non-traditional security aspects. Additionally, it will also ensure that the country has enough resources in the pool to improve its traditional security apparatus. Certainly, now this is more important because Operation Sindoor is not over yet. Pakistan needs to build its economic muscle against India, which is reportedly set to become the fourth-largest economy in the world. It is also arguably correct that the path to geo-economics will be long, and considering the world today, which has almost become a war theater, Pakistan will have additional hindrances when anchoring geographic location for economic benefits. Nonetheless, with the alternate strategy, Pakistan has tried and failed again and again, and not changing the approach will not help address the deep-rooted structural issues the country has been suffering from since its inception in 1947.
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Israel's dangerous delusions
Listen to article Israeli leader Netanyahu launched the war he has been planning for the last 20 years against Iran on 13 June. This aggression is a critical part of his ambition for a "Greater Israel", the Zionist project for regional hegemony. His collaborators are Western countries, in particular the US, since they are all under the overwhelming influence of their domestic Jewish lobbies. But such Israeli ambitions are a dangerous delusion, creating greater insecurity for its people, and ensuring a perpetual state of war in the region. When Netanyahu became Prime Minister in 1996, he immediately launched the Zionist agenda of rejecting the Two-State Solution to the Palestinian issue and creating a "Greater Israel" by expanding Israeli territory over occupied Arab lands while promoting settler colonialism by illegally occupying Palestinian properties. Moreover, with the support of American Neo-Cons, Christian Zionists and the all-powerful Jewish American lobby, he instigated American regime change operations in countries opposing his agenda. Former US General Wesley Clark has stated publically that shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the US initiated plans for wars against Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. Fast forward to the present and the only country remaining on the Israeli-American hit list was Iran. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has been reduced to a cypher, Hamas and Hezbollah have been battered, and wars for regime change have taken place in all the other targeted countries. These were ideal conditions for the Israeli aggression against Iran. Netanyahu's stated objectives are to replace the Khamenei government and destroy Iran's alleged nuclear weapons capability. But his real agenda is promoting Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. However, Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, air defences, critical infrastructure, military leadership and nuclear scientists have neither brought about regime change nor destroyed their nuclear assets. Instead, the robust Iranian military response has surprised Israel and broken the myth of Israeli invincibility. The war is now a stalemate in which Netanyahu's objectives have not been achieved, even though Israel is in a stronger position militarily with continuous American supplies of weapons and funds. Highlighting this situation, Israeli paper Haaretz has written that "Netanyahu might be bumbling into a war of attrition" from which he has no exit strategy of his own. Netanyahu, therefore, became desperate for direct American involvement. Only the US has the B-2 Stealth bombers to drop bunker buster bombs like the GBU-57B to destroy Iran's underground nuclear facilities such as in Fordow and Natanz. Even then, experts acknowledge that the damage could be repaired in 3 to 6 months and that there is no knowledge of the whereabouts of the enriched fissile material already produced. There is also the danger of nuclear radiation from the damaged sites. Besides, American intelligence and nuclear experts are not convinced that Iran has the intention or the ability to make nuclear bombs, an allegation that Netanyahu has been making for the last 20 years. For regime change, impossible through aerial attacks alone, American boots on the ground will be needed. This poses a dilemma for President Trump whose MAGA support base is opposed to American involvement while the powerful Israeli lobby is pushing for intervention. The lessons of the misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan also weigh heavily on the Americans. After procrastinating for a week, Trump succumbed to Israeli pressure and ordered American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on 21 June. The much-dreaded bunker buster 30,000 pound bombs were dropped on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear site by Stealth bombers. While Trump claimed that these facilities have been "obliterated", no reliable evidence has emerged so far to justify this claim. Trump has also threatened more attacks if Iran does not "surrender". In turn, Iran threatened further escalation and immediately attacked Israeli targets. The danger now is whether Trump would risk a ground invasion for regime change which would be extremely perilous. Now that Israel and America has played their trump card, Iran can respond by rejecting nuclear negotiations with the US, exit from NPT, renounce Khamenei's 2003 commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons and conduct a nuclear test. It can also blockade the Persian Gulf and attack US bases in the region, apart from intensifying attacks on Israel. Iranian allies, Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis, whose capabilities have been degraded but not destroyed, could also intensify attacks on the Israelis and Americans. This would not only be counterproductive for Israel and America but also dangerous for the entire region. Russia and China have fully supported Iran and condemned Israeli aggression. They have also joined other states in the UN to call for de-escalation, restraint and immediate ceasefire. More importantly, neither power would want to see their interests in Iran compromised by the Israeli-American aggression and would act accordingly. As a friend and neighbor Pakistan has strongly supported Iran. In this volatile situation, Pakistan can play a constructive role by initiating joint efforts for an early ceasefire, de-escalation and resumption of Iran-US negotiations on the nuclear issue in conjunction with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia. Even the US, despite the rhetoric in Israel's favour, recognises the merits of a peaceful outcome to this crisis. At the same time, Pakistan must be wary of Israeli and Indian machinations. In the past both countries have collaborated to plan attacks on Pakistan's strategic assets. Netanyahu has also publically stated his opposition to Pakistan's nuclear capabilities on several occasions. But both countries also know that Pakistan is fully capable of deterring any threat to its national interests, as was amply demonstrated last May. Indo-Israeli subversion and terrorism, as demonstrated in Iran, also poses a threat to Pakistan's security since the BLA has links with both countries. Our border regions with a destabilised Iran could become even more volatile and, therefore, urgently need to be sanitised. To conclude, while Israel may presently have the tactical military advantage over Iran, it is in a strategic no-win situation. Its dangerous delusions of regional hegemony are doomed.
Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Interior minister announces prohibited bore licences for parliamentarians
Mohsin Naqvi addresses the media during his visit to the Mega Passport Center on Peco Road in Lahore. Photo: Screengrab Listen to article Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced that each parliamentarian will be granted one prohibited bore licence for personal security. The announcement was made during a meeting of the Senate's Standing Committee on Interior, chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem on Tuesday. The committee chair expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of arms licences being issued to parliamentarians, prompting Naqvi's response. The minister also directed the interior secretary to look into complaints regarding the performance of the DG Passports. The committee discussed security concerns, with the minister agreeing that areas with poor law and order would see an increase in licence quotas. Naqvi also announced that individuals who had paid fees but did not receive licences in the past would have their fees refunded. The committee reviewed the Pakistan Citizenship Bill 2025, with DG Passports Mustafa Jamal Qazi briefing members on the proposed amendments. The amendments aim to allow overseas Pakistanis who renounced their citizenship to regain it, enabling them to invest, do business, and contribute to the country's development. During the meeting, Senator Haji Hidayatullah expressed dissatisfaction with the alleged irresponsible behaviour of the DG Passports. He complained that the DG would not answer his calls, and when he did, he failed to take action. He also claimed that the DG had disrespected his leader, Aimal Wali Khan, which he deemed unacceptable. The interior minister directed the interior secretary to investigate the matter. Moreover, Senator Fauzia Arshad raised concerns about water scarcity in the federal capital. Naqvi acknowledged that the situation at Rawal Dam was concerning and informed the committee that a task force had been formed, as per the prime minister's directives, to meet every 15 days to address Islamabad's water issues. He stated that water scarcity is a significant problem in new housing societies, many of which have been established illegally, contributing to a separate crisis. Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa IG Zulfikar Hameed provided a security briefing for Muharram during the meeting, revealing that, out of 35 districts in the province, eight are sensitive and six are extremely sensitive. To ensure security, 43,470 personnel are being deployed in these areas, he said, adding that surveillance has been heightened along the borders with Punjab and Balochistan, and aerial surveillance will be conducted in certain regions. The K-P IG also disclosed evidence of external interference in a recent incident, where an attempt to target a political rally in Peshawar was foiled.
