Comment by Riaz Haq on April 11, 2026 at 5:26pm

Punit Pania
@Punit_Pania
It's so embarrassing to see Godi Media still trying ridicule Pakistan's role in the ceasefire talks. Sometimes, it's better to shut up than expose your desperation.

https://x.com/Punit_Pania/status/2042530307451293930?s=20

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Punit Pania
@Punit_Pania
No mugshots of Islam Hruday Samrat MunirBhai or Mananiya Pujaniya Shehbaz Dada on the hoardings. Pakistan could learn so much from our megalomaniac leaders and their mob of sycophants.

https://x.com/Punit_Pania/status/2043096039780159657?s=20

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Ashok Swain
@ashoswai
I am not a fan of Munir or Sharif. But, the way they are playing the role as hosts of Islamabad talks, meeting & greeting the foreign leaders with grace & dignified manner, it will make any Pakistani happy. No jumping, no hugging, no Khi Khi like their Indian counterpart, Modi.


https://x.com/ashoswai/status/2042917355357921310?s=20

Comment by Riaz Haq on April 11, 2026 at 5:34pm

India cracks down on satirists for turning its prime minister into a punch line

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/11/g-s1-116582/india-cracks-down-satiri...

MUMBAI, India — For years, supporters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi carefully cultivated his public image as a strongman and hard taskmaster — a leader who puts in 18‑hour days to propel India toward superpower status.

To illustrate India's rise, they tout Modi's rapport with other world leaders — like when he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late February. Modi was generous with his signature hugs and laughs, and Netanyahu effusive with praise for his "great friend."

Yet three days after their meeting, Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran, sending India's currency and stock market tumbling. Iran also restricted the movement of fuel ships in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Indians to scramble for cooking gas and shuttering many restaurants and factories.

The Indian government, led by Modi, appeared to be caught off guard by the conflict.

And then, the memes began.

Indian satirists, cartoonists and comedians flocked to X, Instagram and Facebook to mock Modi.

Cartoonist Satish Acharya drew Modi wearing a gag and shutting his eyes to news about the war. Instagram user Namaskaar reworked a popular hymn to appeal to Modi to use his friendship with Netanyahu to resolve India's fuel crunch. Comedian Pulkit Mani performed a sharp mimicry of Modi's exuberance and awkward hugs while meeting world leaders.

Indian censors are also watching.

Several accounts and posts, including those of Acharya and Mani, were withheld in India. In emails shared by dozens of users, host platforms X and Meta claimed they were doing this as per legal requests by Indian authorities.

The blocked accounts include those belonging to popular independent journalists and satirists with hundreds of thousands of followers, and even one legislator from the opposition Trinamool Congress party.


"It's really stuff that's critical of the government," says Prateek Waghre, an internet policy researcher with Tech Global Institute. He says the orders often come from both the police and the federal ministry, and in most cases, users aren't told why their content is being blocked.

https://x.com/sagarikaghose/status/2035910587658727761?s=20

A three-hour takedown deadline
Policy experts say such rapid takedown orders are possible because India last year tightened an existing law requiring social media companies to remove posts flagged as illegal by authorities, and shortened the compliance window from 36 hours to just three. A new set of rules proposed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology now goes even further, seeking to restrict creators themselves while making platforms directly accountable for the content they host.

The ministry, X and Meta did not respond to NPR's request for comment or agree to an interview.

India's content takedown regime is "the most aggressive timeline for any jurisdiction in the world," says Akash Karmakar, a New Delhi-based lawyer who specializes in technology law. A three-hour takedown deadline leaves it open to misuse, he says. And while users can challenge the orders in Indian high courts, "the chances of you being able to get a court reprieve to even the most perverse order in a matter of three hours is 0.00%," he adds.

That's what happened to Prateek Sharma, who runs the satirical account Dr Nimo Yadav on X.

In March, X emailed him in the middle of the night, saying the Indian authorities had asked the platform to block his account. When the high court heard his challenge days later, a government counsel defended the government's request, saying the posts portrayed Modi in "bad taste."

Like when Sharma wrote, "Elect a clown, expect a circus."

On Monday, the Delhi High Court directed X to reinstate his account, while keeping the specific posts cited in the initial order blocked.

Comment by Riaz Haq 2 hours ago

Pakistan Looks to Host Crude Reserve Sites of Gulf Oil Producers


https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Pakistan-Looks-t...


Pakistan is encouraging oil producers from the Persian Gulf to set up crude reserve buffers at a planned Energy City near one of its ports, The Express Tribune reported on Friday.

"In case of emergencies like the breakout of war, Pakistan will have the first right to utilise the oil reserves," a Pakistani official told the publication.

Pakistan, which doesn't have crude reserves at present to act as a buffer in case of emergencies, has been reeling from the Middle East crisis and negotiating with Iran to secure the passage of cargoes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan plans to set up a so-called Energy City at the Gwadar Port, and Kuwait has already expressed interest in building up crude reserves there, according to The Express Tribune.

Pakistan "plans to set up an Energy City where strategic oil reserves will be built along with establishing LNG and LPG terminals," the official told the outlet.

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, has asked Kuwaiti officials to explore crude, LPG, and LNG storage sites with the potential creation of rental-based bonded storage facilities, which could support regional trade flows and improve the supply-chain efficiency of energy trade.

Pakistan – which has been mediating U.S.-Iran talks in recent weeks – has been negotiating to have Qatari LNG moved out of the Persian Gulf for the first time since the war began.

Pakistan has relied on Qatar’s term LNG supply for years, but the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have led to the shutdown of Qatari LNG production and exports.

Without Qatar’s LNG, Pakistan has been reeling from an intensifying energy crisis with power outages and fuel rationing.

Thanks to a bilateral Pakistan-Iran agreement, two vessels carrying Qatari LNG are now en route to Pakistan after successfully passing through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.

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