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Need to carve new pathways
Among deafening chants of resurgence, Pakistan seems to be getting increasingly embroiled in suicidal entanglements that it would be better to stay away from. Among several others, there are two prospects that require pragmatic and purposeful attention, which should be free from crass self-promotion.
Reports have emanated from various sources that Pakistan may be contributing troops to the international stabilisation force being assembled for Gaza. The 20-point Trump Gaza Plan envisages, among other objectives, an immediate ceasefire, exchange of prisoners including the remains of those killed, deployment of a multinational stabilisation force to secure and demilitarise Gaza, followed by a Gulf-funded reconstruction of the enclave as a terror-free economic zone.
When Gaza has been completely demilitarised under the supervision of independent monitors and it is ensured that it does not pose a threat to Israel, its security forces will withdraw in a phased manner, and the charge will be handed over to the international stabilisation force to oversee its security.
The peace deal is about legitimising Israel’s genocide. The countries that would get involved in implementing the process, one way or the other, will be convenient conduits to ensuring that. There is no mention of a Palestinian state in the document and no process outlined whereby the genocide committed by Israel lasting over two years will be accounted for, encompassing over 75,000 people killed, thousands maimed, an entire population rendered homeless and hospitals, schools and offices razed to the ground. This has been a brazen display of a sinister, premeditated, murderous pursuit of Israel, fully aided and abetted by the US.
Notwithstanding the ceasefire that has been put in place, its flagrant violations continue by a trigger-happy Israel, which is hell bent on obliterating the word Palestine from international memory. The Israeli killing spree continues unabated daily, but there is no check in place to stop it from doing so: the US is quiet, as is much of the Muslim world that helped make the deal possible.
Israel’s expansionist and genocidal designs have not been a secret. The same have intensified with time. Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran – virtually all countries of the region have been victims of Israeli expansionist aggression, which has now assumed barbaric genocidal proportions, as has been evidenced in the Gaza Strip. Since this spree has had the support of the US and part of the Western world, it has gone on unchecked, only expanding its operational repertoire in the process. It is the same expansionist and genocidal policy which has also been legitimised through the Abraham Accords.
Moaning over the complicity of the Muslim world, Lt-Gen (r) Asad Durrani has written thus in one of his recent papers, ‘Exhausting non-options’: “Gathering around Trump to put our seal on the fate of the Palestinians is a show of servility, hard to beat by any mafia alleging loyalty to the boss”. Truly, the capitulation of the Muslim world before the US diktat has left a nauseating feeling behind. We have plunged into a freefall, crossing all barriers of wisdom and sagacity. We are hurtling down as a token of our unwavering subservience to a cause that conflicts with the state’s founding principles.
Becoming part of the mechanism to keep a crooked deal in place by sending troops to join the peace force would be taking a step too far. With our history of fighting the Palestinians in Jordan in the past, we need to be extraordinarily cautious before venturing into a pitfall whose horrific consequences may surpass our worst appraisals.
There is no Palestinian state in this deal to protect, but there is a lot of notoriety that will come our way if we become part of this effort to liquidate what rightfully belongs to the people inhabiting the land. Since the times of the Quaid, we have been championing this cause at all bilateral, regional and international forums. What is that unknown compulsion that we need to violate its sanctity now?
Such a move becomes even more dangerous when there is an absence of national consensus on the matter. The nation stands united with the Palestinian cause and against a US-imposed deal as well as the steps that Pakistan may be envisaging to take – more specifically, a decision in the affirmative to join the proposed peace force, which will work under the command of the US and which will inevitably target Hamas to disarm it.
Instead of dividing a nation further, it would be advisable to take parliament and political leaders into confidence. Support of leaders who command the respect of the people of this country, and who can play a role in articulating their thoughts and sentiments effectively and productively, should be solicited. Taking a decision independent of using the available forums can cultivate more fault lines in an already chequered national landscape.
Closer to home, a crisis is brewing with Afghanistan. The parleys between the two countries, brokered by Turkiye and Qatar, had hit an impasse because Afghanistan is unwilling to commit anything in writing vis-a-vis its role in eliminating centres of terror which operate from its soil, mostly those of the TTP. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been rightly insistent that such an undertaking is the key prerequisite to move forward in averting terrorist activity filtering in from across the border.
While there is a need to address the outstanding issues dispassionately, the aggravating statements issued by officials of both countries further vitiated a tense situation. Let’s face the facts. This region has been embroiled in wars for a good part of the last half-century, with Afghanistan and Pakistan bearing the brunt of these upheavals, mostly because of pursuing a flawed and lopsided decision-making process. It is the aftermath of a sequence of conflicts that the two countries are contending with today. This will not go away by persisting with a relationship of acrimony and mistrust.
War is not a solution to this crisis. Peace will come only when the two sides tide over mutual antipathy and sit together to resolve their outstanding disputes. Having suffered the ravages of bloodshed, both Afghanistan and Pakistan should show unmitigated commitment to salvage the region from the prospect of another deadly conflict.
For Pakistan, political compulsions should not impact the making of its foreign policy. The need is to work for stability within to blend with carving pioneering pathways for cultivating relations with the outside world. Only such a policy will withstand the ravages of time.
The writer is a political and security strategist and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He is a former special assistant to former PM Imran Khan and heads the PTI’s policy think-tank. He tweets @RaoofHasan
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this piece are the writer’s own and don’t necessarily reflect Geo.tv’s editorial policy.
Originally published in The News
Victoria Beckham has reportedly decided not to let the fallout with her son Brooklyn disturb her family’s Christmas.
Victoria, 51, and Sir David, 50 are involved in a feud with their eldest child and his wife Nicola Peltz.
During this time, the couple have missed all of the family’s important events over the past year-notably the footballer’s 50th birthday celebrations and his knighthood.
In this situation, Brooklyn, 26, is likely to celebrate the festive period with Nicola and her family in Miami, while the Beckhams celebrate without them in the United Kingdom.
In this difficult scenario, Victoria is believed to be working hard to put on a brave face and stay strong for her husband and teenage daughter Harper, 14.
The couple are also parents to Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 20.
A source said: ‘It’s been a year since they last all saw each other and it’s something she will never come to terms with. But she won’t let it get her down over the festive period as she needs to be strong, especially for Harper, as well as her parents and David’s parents’.
Friends of the Beckham family have said Victoria’s mum Jackie and David’s mum Sandra are ‘very sad’ at the rift that means they no longer see Brooklyn, especially because they were always so close.
The insider told The Sun: ‘Brooklyn spent so much time with her parents Jackie and Tony for the first few years of his life and they had such a special bond, while Sandra looked after him so much growing up’.
‘Harper really misses her big brother and Nicola. Victoria is hoping that Brooklyn at least calls his grandparents over Christmas. She’s given up on him calling her.’
It comes after his estranged brother Cruz offered another Olive branch to Brooklyn on Sunday, by sharing a home video clip of himself and Brooklyn as children.
Tennessee’s governor pardoned country star Jelly Roll on Thursday for his criminal past in the state, acknowledging the Nashville native’s long road back from drugs and prison through soul-searching, songwriting and advocacy for second chances.
The rapper-turned-singer, whose legal name is Jason Deford, has spoken for years about his redemption arc before diverse audiences, from people serving time in correctional centers to concert crowds and even in testimony before Congress.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee issued his pardon after friends and civic leaders of the Grammy-nominated musician joined in an outpouring of support.
He has said a pardon would make it easier for him to travel internationally for concert tours and to perform Christian missionary work without requiring burdensome paperwork.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
He was one of 33 people to receive pardons Thursday from Lee, who for years has issued clemency decisions around the Christmas season. Lee said Jelly Roll’s application underwent the same monthslong thorough review as other applicants. The state parole board gave a nonbinding, unanimous recommendation for Jelly Roll’s pardon in April.
“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story, which is what you look for and what you hope for,” Lee told reporters, adding he hopes to meet Jelly Roll for the first time soon.
Beginning at the age of 14, Jelly Roll was in and out of jail for about a decade for convictions including aggravated robbery, shoplifting, drug possession and drug dealing.
In January 2024, “CBS Sunday Morning” interviewed Jelly Roll inside the Metro-Davidson County Detention Facility in Nashville, where he had once been an inmate. At the time, Jelly Roll had just been nominated for two Grammys.
“There was a time in my life where I truly thought … this was it,” he told “CBS Sunday Morning.” “And then coming here, you know, just after getting nominated for two Grammys, it just hits different…I didn’t think I’d get emotional, to be honest.
He told “CBS Sunday Morning” he wrote hundreds of songs while in jail.
Unlike recent high-profile federal pardons, which let people off the hook for prison, a pardon in Tennessee serves as a statement of forgiveness for someone who has already completed a prison sentence and been released. Pardons offer a path to get certain civil rights restored, such as the right to vote, although there are some limitations under state law, and the governor can specify the terms.
Jelly Roll broke into country music with the 2023 album “Whitsitt Chapel” and crossover songs like “Need a Favor.” He has won multiple CMT Awards, a CMA Award and also picked up seven career Grammy nominations, three of them recently.
Much of his work has become associated with overcoming adversity, like the song “Winning Streak” that tells the story of someone’s first day sober. Or the direct-and-to-the-point, “I Am Not Okay.”
In making his case to the parole board, Jelly Roll said he first fell in love with songwriting while in custody, stating it began as a therapeutic passion project that “would end up changing my life in ways that I never dreamed imaginable.”
Beyond his sold-out shows, he’s brought his story to the Senate, where he testified in January 2024 about the dangers of fentanyl, describing his drug-dealing younger self as “the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemist with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about.”
“I was a part of the problem,” he told lawmakers at the time. “I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution.”
Jelly Roll’s most serious convictions include a robbery at age 17 and drug charges at 23. In the first case, a female acquaintance helped Jelly Roll and two armed accomplices steal $350 from people in a home in 2002. Because the victims knew the female acquaintance, she and Jelly Roll were arrested right away. Jelly Roll was unarmed, and was sentenced to one year in prison plus probation.
In another run-in 2008, police found marijuana and crack cocaine in his car, leading to eight years of court-ordered supervision.
Friends and civic leaders backed the pardon application, citing Jelly Roll’s transformation.
Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, who runs Nashville’s jail, wrote that Jelly Roll had an awakening in one of the jails he managed. Live Nation Entertainment CEO and President Michael Rapino cited Jelly Roll’s donations from his performances to charities for at-risk youth.
The parole board began considering Jelly Roll’s pardon application in October 2024, which marks the state’s five-year timeline for eligibility after his sentence expired. Prominent Nashville attorney David Raybin represents Jelly Roll in the pardon case.
Lee’s office said no one was pardoned Thursday who had a homicide or a sex-related conviction, or for any crime committed as an adult against a minor.
The White House announced on Thursday that Washington’s iconic John F Kennedy arts centre is to be renamed the “Trump-Kennedy Center” after President Donald Trump.
The extraordinary naming of a major cultural venue after a living president is just the latest effort by the 79-year-old Republican to stamp his identity on the US capital in his second term.
He has also demolished the White House East Wing in order to install a grand ballroom, and is seeking to construct a large triumphal arch.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Kennedy Center’s board — which Trump purged of Democrats earlier this year before installing himself as chairman — had “voted unanimously” for the change.
She said it was “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump, and likewise, congratulations to President Kennedy, because this will be a truly great team long into the future! The building will no doubt attain new levels of success and grandeur,” she added.
The towering white monument is named after president John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. The centre, which sits on the banks of the Potomac River, opened in 1971.
Trump has made a number of references to renaming the centre in recent months.
Earlier this month at the opening of a peace institute that had also been renamed after him, Trump referred to it as the “Trump-Kennedy Center,” before adding: “Whoops, excuse me.”
During his first term, billionaire Trump never attended the annual fundraising gala for recipients of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, as many of those artists vocally opposed his policies.
This time, Trump moved quickly to make the centre his own, ridding the board of trustees of its Democratic appointees and ousting its president, as part of a wider assault on federally funded cultural institutions he deemed too “woke.”
Trump then presented the honours this year himself, giving awards to “Rocky” actor Sylvester Stallone, disco legend Gloria Gaynor and rock band KISS.
A few days earlier, at the draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup on December 5, Trump received a new peace prize from football’s governing body and made a speech on stage.
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