Will the UAE be able to survive?

With the imminent peace deal between the US and Iran, there is every possibility that Israel and the UAE will try their best to sabotage the deal, as both want the Islamic Republic to be bombed into the Stone Age. But what the UAE rulers don't seem to realize is that their country is the most vulnerable to attacks from Iran, as it is only about 50 km away. Already predictions are being made that instead of Iran, it will be the UAE that will be reduced to rubble. And there are many reasons to believe that the UAE will not be able to survive this war.

By leaving OPEC to put Saudi Arabia and its other neighbors in a quandary (they will have to reduce oil prices, affecting their revenue), the UAE has no friends in the region (except of course Israel). So presently it is just like a colony of the Jewish apartheid state. But even Israel will not be able to help it rebuild its damaged infrastructure, and no foreigner would be willing to invest in the UAE after its currency collapses. 

The UAE was once part of Oman, and that is how it might end up (perhaps Abu Dhabi will be able to remain independent, if its oil wells survive the war).

 

 

Why are salaries so high?

My first salary after graduating was Rs. 500. Those were the days when you could buy a seer (kg) of beef for a rupee. One could travel in a rickshaw or taxi for ten miles (16 km) and pay only a rupee or even less. As the years went by, and inflation took its toll, salaries grew almost exponentially, and today I heard that the son of a class fellow of mine (an engineer, now dead) has been offered five million a month, while his soon-to-be ex-boss is offering him twice that and many perks (like a hundred million rupee loan to buy a house).

I wonder what exactly does such a man do that he is considered so valuable? When Americans managed the oil industry in Karachi, they used to say, "If you go on leave and your subordinates aren't able to run your department, you are useless". In those days they sacked such a man, who used to work fifty hours at a stretch without going home. He thought the boss would be impressed, thinking that he was a hard-working man. It didn't help him. 

I've heard that nowadays it's the other way around. Every executive makes sure that among his subordinates, there is no one as competent or as intelligent as he is, so if he's absent for a couple of days, the boss calls him back to work as the organization can't function without him. During a management course I attended in 1967-68, an engineer was called by his boss on the third day of the course, and he announced that he had to go to the factory because it couldn't run without him. He said it with a grin, as if it was something to be proud of.

  

Israeli law targeting Muslims

Targeting Muslims

ACCORDING to an Al-Jazeera report, “... of the Palestinians tried for offences committed in the occupied West Bank, 99.74 per cent were found guilty ... conviction rates for settlers found guilty by civilian courts of committing crimes against Palestinians in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) between 2005 and 2024 ran to about 3pc”. Also, the same channel reported, quoting The Guardian newspaper, that Israel has yet to prosecute any of its citizens for killing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank “since the start of this decade”.

Just imagine, if another country were to sentence only Christians or Jews to death, for any crime, there would have been a huge outcry, with possible sanctions imposed on that country. Even the widely reviled apartheid regimes of South Africa never enacted such a law. Yet, just because it is Israel, Western powers have only voiced mute criticism. This is shameless hypocrisy and double standards at work.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026

https://www.dawn.com/news/1995120/targeting-muslims

 

 

Because of Trump's lies, no one will ever trust American politicians

If there's one thing we've learned from the war on Iran, it's that Americans (especially politicians) can never be fully trusted again. Trump lies so much that one can only wonder how such a man was ever elected president.

During his first term he tore up Obama's nuclear policy agreement with Iran (he also moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem). He bombed Iran's nuclear facilities despite ongoing talks. As if that were not enough, he again did the same thing even after Oman announced that negotiations with Iran were successful and it was ready to sign an agreement acceptable to the US. After spending 55 billion dollars on the war and not achieving his aims, he keeps declaring that the US has won, but doesn't explain why he has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a step that is causing oil prices to increase.

Yesterday, when Iran's foreign minister arrived in Islamabad, he announced that it was Iran that had requested that talks be resumed, although Iran categorically said that it was not interested in talks. But Trump nevertheless said that he's sending two envoys (including his son-in-law Jared Kushner) to hold talks with the Iranians (who will not be there).

One can only wonder how a man like Trump has been able to fool so many Americans into voting twice for him.

Democracy vs dictatorship

Until recently I was a diehard supporter of democracy, but recent events have compelled me to change my opinion. Even though Socrates opposed democracy, most countries have opted for it. But considering that it was democracy that cost Socrates his life (he was judged guilty by twelve men who were not his equal in intelligence), it is obvious that democracy is not suitable for mankind.

Consider this: what kind of democracy is this where people like Trump, Netanyahu and Hitler get to be leaders? Trump himself is a convicted felon who knows that he might spend the rest of his life in jail if he's impeached and deposed. Netanyahu is facing corruption charges, so he wants to cause ruckus and mayhem to remain in power. Hitler, it must be remembered, was also elected. Since it's evident that the common man is easily fooled (as in Pakistan where a nincompoop narcissist ruled for four years). a new system (like that in China) would be more suitable for modern times, with some safeguards (like easily removing an incompetent leader like Trump). Of course it will mean doing away with some freedoms, but even in the US, most people don't get the rights given to them by the Constitution.

Failure of talks and future of UAE

It would have been too much to expect the talks to result in any agreement, although there are rumors that it was Netanyahu's phone call to Vance that scuppered a deal. But the cease-fire holds, and there is talk of another meeting between Iran and the US in a couple of days, again in Islamabad. But even if there is a deal, the Gulf States have a lot of thinking to do, and one hopes that they don't align with Israel or India (as the UAE has done).

In fact, the only visitors to the UAE will probably be Indians, who own a lot of property in that country. If ties between Pakistan and the UAE don't improve, Pakistanis will no longer want to remain there, and some of them might even be deported. Whatever happens, the UAE will no longer be the bastion of stability it has so far spent hundreds of billions to portray itself. The Europeans will hesitate to settle there, even if it continues the tax-free regime for them. It will take at least a year for the UAE to attain some semblance of normality, if ever. It is desperately short of money, and one indication is the restriction on foreign airlines to operate only one flight daily to the UAE. This applies to all airlines in the world, not only to India and Pakistan. It will take a long time before the UAE is able to extricate itself from the mess of its own creation.

US-Iran ceasefire: Pakistan's finest hour

Pakistan succeeded in persuading both US and Iran to agree to a two-week ceasefire and hold talks in Islamabad. This will definitely cause Modi many sleepless nights, as Pakistan is on the world stage now because it was able to defeat India in the "Operation Sindoor" air war last year (which most Hindutva terrorist Indians still refuse to concede). Another loser is Imran Khan and his cult followers, who openly mocked Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir when they were reported to be trying to mediate between the two warring countries.

Both the US and Iran claimed to have won, but to most impartial observers, Iran has come out on top. It was able to fight for forty days, inflicting colossal damage to Israel and its Gulf allies. It proved that the US is no longer the superpower it claims to be. 

But the one who lost the most face is President Donald Trump, who until yesterday was warning that he would bomb Iran back into the Stone Age if it did not agree to his demands. "A whole civilization will disappear tonight", he warned. Iran did not flinch. I admire Iran's leadership for its victory. It has saved the Muslim world from being taken over by the Zionists.

Why did 77 million Americans vote for a sociopath like Trump?

It's often been said that democracy is the best system. But that doesn't explain why pedophiles and killers like Trump and Netanyahu get elected (Modi is another psychopath who should have been strangled at birth). And let's not forget that a megalomaniac like Hitler was also elected democratically.

So why should most countries of the planet stick to democracy? Trump's latest antics prove that he's a danger to the world. This man is obviously demented, as his tweet yesterday proves. He threatened Iran with total annihilation if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz. He used the common four-letter word indiscriminately used by illiterate people. But the surprising thing is that he even wrote "Allah be praised" in the same tweet. And this too on one of the holiest days in Christendom (Easter Sunday). No wonder Bernie Sanders and many others have called him crazy. He should not be trusted with the nuclear button. In fact, he should be put in a mental asylum before he does any more damage.

 

Trump and Netanyahu should be tried as war criminals

The Iranian government should demand that Trump and Netanyahu should be tried and sentenced as war criminals by the International Court of Justice. This is the only way psychopaths like them will be prevented from wrecking the world economy and causing immense damage to the environment.

The whole world is suffering because of the antics of these two mentally deranged fanatics. Every country on the planet has seen massive increases in fuel prices. Pakistan is no exception. Yesterday, petrol and diesel prices were again increased substantially. Trump had every opportunity to reverse course and declare an end to the war on Iran. Apparently he wants his friends to become billionaires. His speeches have caused oil prices to spike and share prices to stumble. Some people have earned billions from betting. 

The saddest thing of all is that Trump was manipulated by Netanyahu into declaring war on Iran. The Western nations should realize that the problem is Israel's Zionists, not Iran. But unfortunately that is not likely to happen soon.

Pakistan should not mediate

Even though Pakistan has received a lot of favorable attention from the warring nations, I believe it should not have offered to mediate. The reason, of course, is that Trump cannot be trusted. He tore up the agreement between Iran and Obama, he attacked Iran (twice) while negotiations were in progress in Oman, and now, he keeps lying about ceasefire with Iran, while sending troops to the region. Chances are, he will order an invasion of Iran while talks to stop the war are in progress.

Another thing: even if the talks are successful, can anyone say with certainty that Trump and Netanyahu will stick to the terms of the agreement? I strongly doubt it. The UN is powerless to do anything if the perpetrators are strong (like the US and Israel). There have been many resolutions to resolve the Kashmir dispute, but the impotent UN can only look on. A strong UN would have sanctioned India, the US and Israel, but that is impossible. So, as I said, Pakistan should stay out of it.