FBI opens criminal probe into ex-FBI, CIA directors
Fox News Digital said the probe involved 'potential wrongdoing' related to the investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election won by Trump and alleged false statements made to Congress.
CIA director John Ratcliffe, a Trump appointee, had referred 'evidence of wrongdoing by Brennan' to FBI director Kash Patel, another Trump appointee, for potential prosecution, Fox News Digital said, citing Justice Department sources.
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Express Tribune
2 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Jinnah foresaw a grim future for Pakistan
The writer is a chemical engineer with interest in Society, Politics & Economy. Contact him at: Listen to article Pakistan, born from majority-Hindu apathy, now suffers majority-Muslim ethnic apathy, a tragic comedy. Durkheim (1858), founder of modern sociology, noted mechanical solidarity creates superficial unity but deeper apathy, explaining our socio-political chaos and economic decline. Recent conflict with India showed tactical wins using Chinese tech, but it didn't end hostilities, and more conflicts to follow with pauses. It is, however, troubling to see apathy in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and parts of Sindh regarding military victory signifying anemic national cohesion. This demands a revisit to Jinnah's original goal for Pakistan: save some, not all, Muslims in India. He united willing Mohajirs and unwilling Bengal, Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan under his vision of a modern democratic state. Sadly, his Pakistan was quickly captured and system was subverted for some while masses and smaller provinces suffered. Mohajirs reduced to "second class citizens" and their political leadership twisted into clown for everyone's amusement. Ironic for descendants of those who fought British Raj (1857) and made Pakistan possible (1947). Still! Redemption lies restoring integrity and moral values not going after material gains, Jinnah's hallmark. Jinnah knew existential threat posed by PakRaj (British-loyalist feudal-military-bureaucratic trio) to unity among different groups and his founding principle — a country for people. Despite poor health, he acted fast: To fight feudalism, Jinnah chose non-feudal leaders in all provinces. Just months before his death, he disbanded landlord system in Sindh (blocked by court) and pushed land reforms in Punjab (sabotaged by legislature). Jinnah's land reforms died with him. West Pakistan stayed feudal, but East Pakistan implemented land reforms by 1950. Ayub and Bhutto's half-measures failed and no one dare talk about land reform in Pakistan since 1977. Jinnah kept military under civilian rule, fired General Messervy for ignoring him on Kashmir and placed military policy under cabinet control. His death allowed military to regain influence with feudals and bureaucrats — something Jinnah had forbidden. His bureaucratic reforms replaced feudal-backed recruits with merit-based ones. An exam under his watch in February 1948 had only 12% feudal recruits. After his death, English test barriers and vague interviews increased feudal share to 65% by 1965. Jinnah expected a grim future for Pakistan without reforms, and he was right. PakRaj initiated country's capture via malafide actions of Ghulam Muhammad and Iskander Mirza - both ex-ICS officers who carried contempt for politicians and democratic process. Using government-dismissal powers, they destroyed democracy between 1948 and 1958. Later, same provision serves a hanging sword over successive governments until last used by Musharraf in 2007. Mirza's tyranny led to martial law as he remained in power, but immediately replaced by Ayub's military dictatorship under judicial cover provided by Justice Munir — mother of all tragedies which State of Pakistan has yet to see, as its last judicial pillar fell. With that ended checks and balances system letting PakRaj do as it pleases. Institutional failures followed: Ayub's failed idea of basic democracies, Bangladesh's creation in 1971, and cycles of dictatorship and managed democracy — Bhutto, Zia, Benazir, Musharraf, Sharifs, Imran, PDM versions. Each rule made institutional decay worse. Why? PakRaj response has been always in "National Interest" (framed as required); over time they became all powerful entity beyond imagination, meanwhile joined by opportunistic politicians, industrialists, businesses tycoons and enablers. So, they control state and operate unaccountably. Period. It would be unfair not to see their performance accumulated over time, which can be evaluated under Scripture's guidance "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:16). The harvest has been bitter. Governance has collapsed: Pakistan ranks poorly globally — all in worst tiers: Corruption 135, Rule of law 129, Political change 100, Governance 122, among others. Economy is equally damning: FY25 shows growth is just 2.68% (target 3.6%) creating more poverty, which is made worse by an increasing population growing at 2.7% annually. Public debt stands at Rs76.01 trillion (74.60% of GDP) with servicing at Rs9.775 trillion (51% of federal spending). Yet politicians approve their own pay rises while Cabinet expanded — a further arrogant act under misrule. Tax shortfall and mismanagement: Feudal escape taxes. SOE losses Rs851 billion, power sector losses Rs660 billion, elitist IPPs-related circular debt Rs2.5 trillion, UGF Rs190 billion, corruption costs 1.4% of GDP and an unknown amount of tax evasion. Pakistan borrows new money to service old debts — absolutely hostage to IMF and the US. Human cost is staggering: About 44.7% live below Rs2,324/day ($4.20/day) and 16.5% live in absolute poverty below Rs840/day ($3.0/day); actual figures will be higher given old database (2018-19). Even with military victory against India, Pakistan is losing war for human dignity which India is winning — only 23.89% of Indians live below $4.20/day, and just 5.3% live in absolute poverty below $3.0/day (CES 2022/23 data). Future? More of same suffering: development spending stays around 0.9% of GDP, health under 0.9%, education below 0.8% — warranting shameful "education emergency". Despite numerous national and international studies on countries' ailments and state commissions since 1949, PakRaj has set aside most recommendations and arrogantly ignored decades of real failures as country continues to decline. C'est la vie! Surely, PakRaj will not give up its power and privileges, nor can we expect them to; I along with them and masses await the coming reckoning, as John Elia said: Hashar main bataon ga tujhy Jo hashar tu nay kiya hay mera What lies before us is a simple binary decision. Do nothing — Accept PakRaj's fiascos disguised as "success" in governance, economy and battlefield wins at mercy of US/China. Or, Do what must be done — Finish Jinnah's structural reforms. Empower educated middle class, entrepreneurs and professionals. Adapt 21st-century realities — digital governance, global economic integration and climate challenges that didn't exist in 1947. History has proved Jinnah was right. He warned: without change we will remain exposed — fragile, divided and easily ruled. The reality always begs core question — whether Pakistan will heed it before it's too late.
Express Tribune
3 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trump says he will help Afghans stuck in the UAE
US President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Republican Senators, in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 18, 2025. Photo: Reuters Listen to article President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would help Afghans detained in the United Arab Emirates for years after fleeing their country when the United States pulled out and the Taliban took power. Trump, a Republican who promised a far-reaching immigration crackdown, suspended refugee resettlement after he took office in January. In April, the Trump administration terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans in the US "I will try to save them, starting right now," Trump said in a post on Truth Social that linked to an article on the Afghans held in limbo there. Also Read: Israeli fire kills 67 people seeking aid in Gaza as hunger worsens Trump cited news website "Just the News" as saying that UAE officials were preparing to hand over some Afghan refugees to the Taliban. Reuters has not confirmed the report. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The UAE, a close security partner of the United States, agreed in 2021 to temporarily house several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul as the Taliban ousted the US-backed government during the final stages of the US-led withdrawal. Nearly 200,000 Afghans were brought to the US by former President Joe Biden's administration since the chaotic US troop withdrawal from Kabul. Canada agreed in 2022 to resettle about 1,000 of the Afghans still held in the UAE after a US request. It is unclear how many remain in the Gulf country. Some countries have forced Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan. Nearly 2 million Afghans were returned from Iran and Pakistan in the past seven months, the United Nations said last week. Germany on Friday deported 81 Afghan men to Afghanistan amid a tightening of refugee admissions. Some other European countries are pushing to tighten asylum rules in the bloc. Read: Tehran says air defence systems restored after Israel conflict In the United States, Democrats have urged Trump to restore temporary protected status for Afghans, saying women and children could face particular harm under the Taliban-led government in place since 2021. Refugees include family members of Afghan-American US military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the US government during the 20-year war. Shawn VanDiver, president of the #AfghanEvac advocacy group, urged Trump to follow up on his post with action. "President Trump has the authority to do the right thing. He should instruct DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the Department of State to expedite processing, push for third-country partnerships, and ensure that we never again leave our wartime allies behind," he said in a statement.
Express Tribune
10 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Tehran says air defence systems restored after Israel conflict
A satellite overview shows the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, along with damage from recent airstrikes, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, near Qom, Iran, June 24, 2025. Maxar Photo:REUTERS Listen to article Iran has replaced air defences damaged during last month's conflict with Israel, Iran's Defah Press news agency reported on Sunday quoting Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army's deputy for operations. During the conflict in June, Israel's air force dominated Iran's airspace and dealt a heavy blow to the country's air defences while Iranian armed forces launched successive barrages of missiles and drones on Israeli territory. "Some of our air defences were damaged, this is not something we can hide, but our colleagues have used domestic resources and replaced them with pre-arranged systems that were stored in suitable locations in order to keep the airspace secure," Mousavi said. Prior to the war, Iran had its own domestically-made long-range air defence system Bavar-373 in addition to the Russian-made S-300 system. The report by Defah Press did not mention any import of foreign-made air defence systems to Iran in past weeks. Following limited Israeli strikes against Iranian missile factories last October, Iran later displayed Russian-made air defences in a military exercise to show it recovered from the attack. Earlier today, Iran, Britain, France and Germany could hold talks next week on Tehran's nuclear programme, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, following warnings by the three European countries that failure to resume negotiations would lead to international sanctions being reimposed on Iran. "The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised," Tasnim reported, quoting a source informed on the matter. Read: Iran says 'no specific date' for US nuclear talks The report on possible talks comes a few days after the foreign ministers of the so-called E3 nations, as well as the European Union's foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 nuclear deal reached with Iran - from which the United States withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on the Middle Eastern country in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. The E3 have said they would restore UN sanctions on Tehran via the so-called "snapback mechanism" by the end of August if nuclear talks that were ongoing between Iran and the US before the Israel-Iran air war do not resume or fail to produce concrete results. "If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground," Araqchi said earlier this week. The snapback mechanism can be used to restore UN sanctions before the UN Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18. Prior to the Israel-Iran war, Tehran and Washington held five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman but faced major stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment in Iran, which Western powers want to bring down to zero to minimise any risk of weaponisation. Tehran maintains its nuclear programme is solely meant for civilian purposes.
