War will be political, military suicide for India: Sharjeel
KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has warned India that if war is imposed on Pakistan, it would amount to political and military suicide for India.
He emphasised that Pakistan is a nuclear power, and the nation stands fully prepared to defend its sovereignty. He further stated that Pakistan possesses one of the finest armies, navies, and air forces in the world, and every citizen is ready to protect the motherland.
Addressing a press conference, he stated that Pakistan has no connection to the incident in question. He categorically rejected the allegations made by India against Pakistan, stating that Pakistan has consistently condemned all forms of terrorism. He added that the Indian claims regarding the recent incident are unfounded and based on falsehoods.
He emphasised that Pakistan has successfully dismantled terrorist networks within its borders, while India itself has been involved in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. He further clarified that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism, with over 70,000 citizens having lost their lives in this ongoing struggle.
He stated that Pakistan's martyred leader, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, was herself a victim of terrorism, and that people of all ages, children, youth, and elders have made immense sacrifices in this fight. He further alleged that India exploited the post-9/11 focus of the international community to wrongfully portray the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination as terrorism.
Senior Minister said that India is perpetrating atrocities and oppression against the people of the occupied Kashmir. He said that Kashmiri leaders have been imprisoned on fabricated charges, innocent youth have been martyred, and the population is being suppressed through the use of force. He also accused India of consistently violating United Nations resolutions.
Memon said that India resorts to propaganda and deception to mislead the international community and the recent Pahalgam incident is yet another example of this pattern. He emphasised the need for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the incident to ensure that the truth is revealed to the world.
He stated that Pakistan is not intimidated by any political manoeuvres of the Modi government, and the presence of an Indian agent like Kulbhushan Jadhav has already exposed India's true face. He described the Pahalgam incident as a complete failure of India's security agencies.
Sharjeel said that so-called democratic India has blocked Pakistani media outlets and YouTubers, while Pakistan upholds complete freedom of expression. He further stated that India is already terrorized and its panic is amply reflected. He said that Pakistan is a peaceful country, but it will never compromise over its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He cautioned that if the Indus Waters Treaty was breached, then, as Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has warned, 'If water does not flow in river Indus, blood will flow in it.' He said that Pakistan will respond appropriately to any aggression. Although Pakistan is not weak, it wants peace.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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Did India use commercial flights as ‘human shields'?
In the ongoing information warfare between India and Pakistan, narratives clash with great fervor. India has, over the past few weeks, come forward accusing Pakistan of using civilian airliners as 'shields' for their military aircraft during high tension timelines. However, a deep dive into the OSINT data encompassing flight logs, social media timestamps, and official military briefings reveals a most sinister exploitation of commercial flights. It suggests that rather than simply getting caught in the crossfire, these airplanes were intentionally steered by Indian air traffic controllers towards the crosshairs of the IAF strike packages, which were positioned in the Kashmir and Jammu regions, instead of the safer east-south-easterly routes. As the provided OSINT images suggest, air traffic control cynically turned these passengers into 'human shields' for IAF fighter jets. Diverting civilian aircraft into a conflict zone, especially for military purposes, is an outrageous breach of humanitarian law. It also depicts utter contempt for human life and violently disrupts the sacredness of civilian airspace. The military maneuvers alongside flights conducted by commercial airlines leave an unnerving imprint, which calls for thorough investigation of responsibility and instant global attention. Commercial flights pushed into danger In contrast to the tracks navigated by these specific aircraft, commercial flights operating in these sectors were supposed to take well-timed and east-south-east directions avoiding 'danger-zones'. However, OSINT offered evidence records which clearly demonstrate the opposite hypothesis during the claimed periods of IAF military activities. Let's talk about the baseline first: The preset 'normal route' for these airliners is showcased as a magenta line in the image below. Normal Flight Path followed by Air Asia at 2202 PST on 6 May 2025 This 'standard flight path' of the route was not to be! And the airliners were tracked in a northward direction, which purportedly brought civilian flights deep into the core of the military action zone. Flight tracker data from 6 May 2025, 19:30 UTC shows a bobbing cluster of commercial aircraft including THA961, KAC-381, THA911, THA931 to mention a few as per above video 1. They seem to have a northern heading. Instead of being diverted southwards and out of a possible conflict, these flights seem to be kept or actively routed towards the Jammu & Kashmir parts of the region. Diverted Path followed by Airliners at 0030 - 0032 PST on 7 May 2025 / 1930 – 1932 UTC, 6 May 2025 The observation is supported by another snapshot from the same day at 19:32 UTC. Airliners such as KLM871 and THA925 were also continuing their journey along northern routes a mere three minutes before the purported peak of military activity. The persistent flow of civilian traffic, apparently ordered or allowed to continue on that northern heading, sharply contrasts accepted risk management practices in aviation safety during armed conflicts. The screenshot below of flight KLM809's (Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur) KLM Airways flight shows the normal operating track which differs grossly from the unsettling practice which took place on that fateful night. This image demonstrates that the very same "normal route" – which was vectored northwards – commonly follows the depicted track under run-of-the-mill circumstances. This suggests not an accidental momentary lapse, but a consistent operational pattern. Normal Flight Path followed by KLM at 0945 PST (0445 UTC) on 6 May 2025 IAF's concealed maneuvers The timeline of this scenario proceeded with IAF operations started at 0010 hours PST 7 May 2025 & 6 May 1910 UTC with Indian airstrike within Pakistan's borders at 35 minutes past midnight which is 0035 PST 7 May 2025 &1935 UTC 6 May 2025. A PAF response was activated at 0012 hrs PST & 1912 UTC. Added to the list of projectiles fired at the heart of Pakistan were Bahawalpur to the south, Muzaffarabad mosque in the north, alongside a presumed Muridke compound. The most concerning tale of pertaining to 'human shield' disclaimer is the control airspace of the IAF over regions of Indian Kashmir and Jammu as it is proven that commercial flights were routed into these zones. Official Images released showing active Indian Operations at 0035 PST IAF's presence and civilian overlap The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) gave a press briefing with the slide 'RECONSTRUCTION OF EVENTS' as below, when a photograph in the slide strikingly caught the attention of the author. It shows IAF strike packages marked with red boxes and dotted over the LOC as well as the Indian Kashmir and Jammu region. PAF Brief showing location of IAF Package at 0030 PST Combining PAF's reconstruction with actual civilian flight data tells a similar story. The flight tracker info showing 6 May 2025, UTC 19:35:06 timestamped below Image 8 shows civilian air traffic feeding into the so-called 'operational zones' of IAF redacted strikes. The picture exhibits superdense garrisoned traffic of jets in the construed airspace of the north. The display provides uncanny resemblance to random intersections of civil flight paths with IAF fighter activities. Airliners diverted over the IAF Package and S-400 Site Shown in the image below, the overlap is reemphasized with OSINT along the dangerous corridor where Qatar Airways flight QTR85V and China Southern Airlines flight CSN8070 are located, corroborating the timeline. As for their flight paths, QTR85V is visible south of Bhatinda and south-west of Adhampur, locations that, according to PAF charts, were close to where a Rafael aircraft was operating (288 / 19 NM from Bhatinda) and where an S-400 was reportedly deployed. CSN8070 is also in almost the same critical location. Noteworthy is that Vietnam Airlines flight HVN18 also traversed this sensitive region. With the same timing, this flight was flying east to Hanoi from Paris, and put through 'beelining' around the highly contested area. Chinese, Qatari, Vietnamese and Dutch Airliners being flown over the battle space Acquired information, as per the following image, suggests there was also Kuwait Airways flight KAC381 (Kuwait City – Delhi) appears to have taken the most curious detour crossing the furthest to 'exotic' combat zones as well. Its flight path castles a continuous line which markedly contradicts the usual routes airline flights take through the LOC which appears even more transparent as it virtually flies straight to the spot 'to protect IAF indeed'. This precise positioning of multiple civilian airliners near key Indian military assets and operational zones intensifies the 'human shield' claim. Kuwait Airways flew a diverted path all along the International Border and LOC while a large number of IAF and PAF fighters were airborne All went quiet on the eastern front as soon as 1945 UTC – 0045 hrs PST. Once the IAF had completed its weapons release and its munitions had hit their targets. All airliners diverted and jumbled up now being reverted back at 0045 PST to their destination path also ensuring safe exit of IAF fighter after their strikes The "Kill Chart" and strategic positioning Seen in the official PAF brief, the 'Kill Chart' shared with media representatives featured IAF aircraft such as the Rafale, MiG 29, Su-30 MKI, with shooting ranges marked relative to important locations like Srinagar, Jammu and the International Border. In the modified image of the 'Kill Chart' below, the red box highlights an area where civilian airliners were flying heavily around the time the alleged strikes occurred. The area where the IAF aircraft were said to be operating overlaps and is key to the 'human shield' narrative. Red Box indicating PAF avoided shooting IAF fighters in the area with human shield airliners. The implication is stark: Pakistani fighter jets took great care taking 'shots of opportunity in Grind' while in BVR (Beyond Visual Range) air combat mode and 'sorting' the targets avoiding the commercial jets in the area. As well as defend themselves from crossfire during any aggressive attempts from IAF jets which were indeed present in the conflict zones of Indian Kashmir and Jammu. If IAF jets had commanding presence over these particular zones – which was not to be – and civilian airliners were forced or retained on to the Northern paths to these zones, it would cripple all attempts by Pakistan air defence to intercept or counter fire. This specific approach makes defendable every argument around the possible killing of thousands of innocent civilians under the guise of military operations. A grave violation: the purposeful proximity The integration of OSINT, including flight tracking data, local Bahawalpur tweet – image 14 – reporting impacts around 0040 PST, and military replays, provides a coherent yet disturbing analysis. The critical concern is: Why were commercial airlines actively instructed to forcefully maneuver into, and purportedly stay within, an airstrike package IAF purportedly positioned over Kashmir and Jammu, rather than being safely, international airspace guideline compliant, routed well south of the conflict zone? A tweet from local shows that by 0040 PST the airstrikes had struck their targets Best practice aviation safety risk management protocols order the immediate air space clearance of commercial aviation during any aviation military activity. Regardless, the OSINT data paints a picture that not only were those protocols completely disregarded, but an illogical dangerous northern route was enforced or followed. Implications: a deliberate act of endangerment This glaring absence of southward diversions, coupled with the dense civilian air traffic being funnelled northwards, compels a severe examination of the implications for India's conduct… Gross Negligence and Strategic Misjudgment: One possibility points to an appalling failure of coordination and judgment within India's command and control. Such a lapse, leading to thousands of civilian lives being knowingly exposed to a conflict zone, would constitute a profound breach of aviation safety and human ethics. One possibility points to an appalling failure of coordination and judgment within India's command and control. Such a lapse, leading to thousands of civilian lives being knowingly exposed to a conflict zone, would constitute a profound breach of aviation safety and human ethics. A Deliberate 'Human Shield' Tactic: The most chilling implication, and the focus of the counter-narrative which the writer offers here, is the allegation of an 'intent strategy'. Steering civilian airliners into an active operational zone transforms the aircraft and passengers into a 'human shield' that inhibits effective defensive countermeasures. If this hypothesis was proven, the consequences would not only be devastating in terms of international humanitarian law—particularly the principle of distinction—but also represent a deeply immoral act of civilian life cannibalization for the purposes of warfare. The human cost and the call for accountability Above and beyond the specific intricacies of flight paths and military maps lies an unquestionable human dimension. Every yellow symbol on those flight tracker maps conveys hundreds of individuals, including passengers, pilots, and cabin crew, unaware that their routine flight was allegedly meant to be turned into some sort of a dangerous military operation. It is deeply disturbing and morally distressing to contemplate that these people might have been intended to be a shield for military operations behind the scenes. The comprehensive collection of open-source intelligence provided in this case, such as detailed flight tracking data, contemporaneous social media reports, and official military briefings, along with others, raises some of the most profound and unsettling questions alongside the ones that have already been answered. It strongly indicates that civilian airliners were purposely steered dangerously close to IAF operational zones, directly undermining the narrative India has been pointing out against Pakistan. It goes beyond the issues of international relations or military maneuvers; it is an investigation into law and morality, along with the fundamental right to unimpeded access to traversing through airspace regarded as civilian without risk. There needs to be an investigation done by an outside entity because 'unbiased' has become a myth in modern discourse. It is necessary to understand so that measures can be put in place to prevent what can been bluntly described as 'contemptable'. Every single honest citizen of the world is yet to receive answers on what these innocent individuals did to deserve being jammed into the space just above the so-called weapon delivery zone and who bears the ultimate responsibility for this alleged act of deception and endangerment. Fahad Masood is an aviation analyst and freelance contributor All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the author
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In the Trumpian worldview, the 'disposable labour' extracted from nations long ravaged by US foreign policy is now being cast aside like a used tool – mercilessly and by design. Even some of Trump's allies are starting to shift in their seats. Joe Rogan, one of his most prominent supporters, recently sounded an alarm: 'We've got to be careful that we don't become monsters while we're fighting monsters.' However, the warnings from the populist leader's base remain steeped in the same obscene necropolitical logic that draws lines between the human and the subhuman – the 'monsters'. The protests now erupting across the US are not new but mark a renewed moment of convergence between immigration enforcement and a long, bloody history of racialised labour control. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to ICE's post-9/11 rise, the American state has always policed its borders by criminalising racialised 'others' while exploiting their labour. The Trump-era raids echo the worksite crackdowns of the 1980s and Obama's courthouse arrests. However, with 80-strong factory raids, convoys blocking roads and National Guard troops deployed without state consent, this is a new escalation. There is no new crisis driving the ongoing assault but an old political trick: manufacture the spectacle of invasion to fuel nationalist panic and weaponise it against workers and dissent. Across the country, working-class communities – immigrant and non-immigrant alike – have taken to the streets. From handcuffed migrants to student walkouts, from union banners to handmade placards reading 'Mi familia, no se separa,' the resistance is multi-generational and deeply grounded. The border wars and the street wars have converged. For many, the raids are not just about immigration. They reject the logics of neoliberal 'security', challenging the premise that human life can be reduced to economic cost or to statistics in a detention ledger. In Washington, a different story is being told. The Trump administration, flanked by DHS officials and amplified by mainstream networks, insists this is a crackdown on 'criminals'. Protestors are dismissed as 'lawless mobs'. Trump, in his typical red meat rhetoric, even declared that Los Angeles had been 'invaded and occupied' and vowed to 'liberate' it. Attorney General Ashley Bell pledged to prosecute protestors aggressively. However, immigrant communities, organisers and rights activists see through the smoke, contending that the real criminals are those tearing families apart to prop up a neoliberal system that depends on cheap, precarious and deportable labour. Undocumented migrants have long formed a surplus army for US capitalism, hyper-exploitable because their fear makes them compliant. Seen through this lens, border enforcement is a farce dressed as a national security issue. It's about preserving racial capitalism, disciplining people of colour and preserving profit margins. The 'rule-of-law' narrative is thus inverted: the deeper violence lies not in protest, but in decades of war, trade policy and austerity that drive migration. Colonial Legacies and Necropolitics The domestic clashes cannot be understood without their global and historical context. The US border is not a neutral line. It is a colonial scar. From Indigenous dispossession to wars in Mexico and the Caribbean, the very idea of the border was forged in empire. Migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America or the Caribbean are not 'invaders', they are survivors of systems created, in part, by US policy. Their displacement is the aftershock of coups, land grabs and extractive economics. As protesters take to the streets with Mexican and Black flags, slogans like 'Here we stay' invoke historical truth: these cities were built by the very people now being hunted. Through the lens of Frantz Fanon, one sees how the immigrant becomes a 'zone of non-being', excluded from rights so the state can justify violence and deprived of the 'right to have all rights'. Fanon's psychology of the oppressed reveals that the migrant is demonised in discourse precisely to justify state violence. Indeed, as Fanon noted, the social order locks 'white people into whiteness, Black people into blackness'. The point is both theoretical and practical: immigrants exist outside the democratic community in the state's eyes, made 'other' so their rights are negotiable. Under such logic, US immigration policy embodies what Achille Mbembe has called necropolitics: the power to define who may live and who must die or suffer. Migrants in detention centres are literally at the mercy of a system designed to wear them down psychologically and physically. Reports of children in cages, or men packed into vans with little water, reveal a state's willingness to inflict slow violence. One organiser reported that 'intimidation and terror' – the kind seen in San Diego's restaurant raids – is now routine. The state is not just locking people up to fight crime. It is managing poverty while disciplining surplus lives. That's the essence of what Loïc Wacquant calls 'prisonfare'. Immigration raids slot neatly into this logic: not just law enforcement, but a pipeline into the detention-industrial complex. While the discourse on criminal justice reform grows louder, migrants remain outside its moral perimeter – detained without charges, deported without explanation, excluded from rights others are beginning to reclaim. By the Numbers Trump's ambition is staggering: one million deportations in his first year. The US currently houses around 13 million undocumented immigrants—roughly 4% of its population. Nearly 80% have lived in the US for over a decade, many with US-born children. In 2022, undocumented immigrants contributed $69 billion in taxes. And yet, they are being targeted en masse. ICE has just 6,000 officers, but Trump has expanded its powers, enlisted other federal agencies like the IRS, and reopened detention facilities. He has even floated reactivating Alcatraz. Legal protections are being stripped. Trump has fired immigration judges, expanded expedited removals and invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans without hearings. Some were sent not to Venezuela, but to a supermax prison in El Salvador. Justifications included tattoos, nationality and assumed gang affiliation – no due process, no evidence. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Venezuela, Haiti and Afghanistan is also on the chopping block. Collateral arrests and raids in schools, churches, and hospitals are back. Even programs like Project Homecoming, which offer $1,000 to 'voluntarily' return, function as soft coercion. One calculation found that 72,000 people were deported in Trump's first 98 days, roughly 737 per day, nearly double the daily average under Biden. What remains, then, is a moral and political question: who belongs, and on what terms? If the answer depends on citizenship, productivity or compliance, then millions will remain outside the circle of rights. In the mainstream imagination, human rights are often tethered to the sanctity of citizenship. However, as Hannah Arendt famously warned, the stateless are those who have lost the 'right to have rights'. If rights are contingent upon national membership, then what remains for the undocumented, the displaced, the 'others' at the border of recognition? What happens next is uncertain. The administration has vowed to intensify its programme of detentions and deportations. But activists report that every raid is now met with instant organising by union halls, churches and community centres. Grassroots patrols spot ICE vehicles in advance, legal teams mobilise at courthouses and protest waves continue. Even as the White House drums up images of chaos, those on the ground insist their cause is orderly and just. In the words of a young organiser at a Philly vigil, this is more than crisis management – it is a moment of international morality: 'We're fighting for the working class, for immigrants, for our freedom. We won't back down.'
