BC WORLD
Saved by @CodyyyGardner

1. TTP is not a monolith and does not reside in one area in Afghanistan. Its connections with sections of the Afghan establishment and TTA are old and diverse. Dealing with TTP is part of the ongoing peace process and a key Pakistani demand.

 2. Recent developments reveal these diverse & apparently contradictory connections of TTP. The mysterious killings of six mid-level TTP commanders b/n May & July in Afg was arguably the quid pro duo that Pak would have demanded in return for brokering the US-TB deal.
3. After these developments, among others, TTP reunified realizing that it'll be weakened if it didn't unify. While some sections of Afg establishment may ve links with Halqa Mehsud, after the 2014 APS attack it took action against the Swat Taliban.
https://t.co/8lX8OLnRLf
4. Following the APS massacre, Afghan forces bombarded position of Fazlullah and his associates on Pakistan's insistence. In 2018, the Afghan ministry of defense officially announced Fazlullah's killing in a drone attack.

https://t.co/yV13rMKhab
4. Going by @EUEofficial35's interview with @SaleemKhanSafi, Afghan establishment engaged factions of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar or the Mohmand Taliban. In the same interview, the allegations of Indian support were also leveled, including financial assistance and medical treatment.
5. Another key TTP leader Faqir Muhamamd, previously belonged to Tehreek-e-Nifaze Shariate Muhammadi, was also captured & killed by NDS in Afg in 2013. So, a hard stance against former TNSM-turned-TTP factions & a soft corner for Mehsud TTP seems visible.
https://t.co/nnbXdorroK
6. Against the backdrop of the Afghan peace process, TTP commanders' killings , the reunification of its various factions, its mention in the UN report & claiming its leaders could join ISKP after the US exit from Afg & ensuing renunciation from TTP need to be put in perspective.
7. Not just that, TTP also ideologically denounced ISKP, not to be confused with the latter in the post-US Afghanistan. Pak is pushing both TTA & Kabul vis-a-vis TTP. So, the contradictory trends not only reveal the diverse nature of TTP but the complex landscape it navigates.
8. This contradictory trend is not different from TTA's links with Pak's establishment. Some factions, like the Haqqani Network, are closer than others. Still, there are some factions such as the Qayum Zakir group which was not on good terms with the Paki deep state.
9. Of course, both Kabul & TTA would deny these links. From the strategy point of view, why Kabul wouldn't support a group intent on harming Pak. While sheltering TTP by TTA is part of its policy to maintain some leverage of Pak's establishment & avoid its blackmails.
10. TTA also shelters TTP for ideological cpmpulsions--the latter has pledged allegiance to the former, & ethnic reasons. TTP hosted TTA after 9/11. In a way, TTA is returning that favour now. However, this relationship is more complex courtesy Al-Qaeda & ISKP's presence.

More from World

Tweeting Historians
Tweeting Historians
@Tweetistorian
How do you explain the Trinity in Chinese? If you're a Christian in Tang China, there's a few ways!

I'm @ChenHuailun, back for my last #Twittistorian thread, this time on translating the names of God in Chinese Christian documents. ~ahc #jingjiao 1/


There are two main writers/translators credited in the extant documents of the Christian (called 'Jingjiao' 景教 in Chinese) corpus of Tang China: Aluoben and Jingjing. ~ahc #jingjiao /2

Aluoben (阿蘿本) was said to have been the Persian missionary responsible for bringing Christianity to China, arriving in Chang'an in 635 and building a church there with 21 monks. ~ahc #jingjiao /3


'Observing the azure clouds, he [Aluoben] bore the true sacred books; beholding the direction of the winds, he braved difficulties and dangers.' - Xi'an stele ~ahc #jingjiao /4


Let's pause on this name, Aluoben (阿蘿本). Some translate it as 'Olopen.' Is it a Syriac name, perhaps a rendering of Yahballaha or Abraham? Or perhaps a Middle Persian name Anōš-ruwān (meaning immortal soul)? ~ahc #jingjiao /5
WORLD
Heshmat Alavi
Heshmat Alavi
@HeshmatAlavi
THREAD

1)
#Iran’s regime has a network of apologists/lobbyists in the US influencing foreign policymakers.

Kaveh Afrasiabi was recently arrested for acting as an agent of #Iran's regime.
https://t.co/fJq6jRtBha

There are more.

cc: @TheJusticeDept
WORLD
Advertisement
Heshmat Alavi
Heshmat Alavi
@HeshmatAlavi
THREAD

1)
“Iranian Arms, Fighters Bolster Maduro Government in Venezuela, U.S. Says”

#Iran has a long history of meddling in #Venezuela with the U.S. in its crosshairs.

And Obama facilitated the mullahs’

2)
Iran has sent arms & dispatched paramilitary operatives to help Maduro remain in power.

“We see a growing Iranian influence in there,” said Adm. Craig Faller, head of the U.S. Southern Command, citing the “alarming & concerning” presence of IRGC Quds Force military personnel.


3)
“We’re concerned about what we see…It’s not just oil shipments, it’s arms shipments as well,” Adm. Craig Faller said. “We saw an uptick in that this year. We are watching the rate of change very carefully.”

More on Iran's malign role in South

4)
“… flotillas are often accompanied by Iranian naval vessels, including an intelligence ship that U.S. officials say has been used to transport missiles to Iranian proxies in the Middle East…”

More on Iran's gaining a dangerous foothold in the

5)
“Iran’s Mahan Air, an airline sanctioned by the U.S. for transporting men, money & arms for the terror-designated IRGC, has also restarted flights between the two
WORLD
Zarina Zabrisky
Zarina Zabrisky
@ZarinaZabrisky
🧵 ⚡️ #Navalny, in handcuffs, expects his second verdict in one day NOW, about to be ready any minute now. He’s joking about cucumbers he pickles in his cell. I will translate his SECOND last address in one day but here is the previous trial coverage


Extracts from #Navalny last address #2 today: “Putin’s party is akin a swine devouring oil and gas dollars from a trough, & when poked & reminded that $ are for everyone, growls, “What about the WWII? What about veterans?!” The verdict is due any minute now. #FreeNavalny 👇🏼☝🏼

The judge is back and reads the verdict now.

“The politician criticized the participants in the [RT] video in support of the amendments to the Constitution, calling the presenters "corrupt lackeys", "traitors" and "people without conscience."

The judge says Navalny pleaded not guilty and called the persecution politicized.
WORLD
Arinola Ifeoma -Join the Official APC Party today
Arinola Ifeoma -Join t...
@iyaboawokoya
If Rinu or Marinu has exited the Judicial Panel it is because SHE HAS SEEN THAT THERE WAS NO MASSACRE and she is trying to escape the judgement of us and hers. Us being those who knew all along that LekkiLies was babanla iro & hers are the sorosokes who she won't be able to face

Let us put things in context: She did not belong in that Panel all along. We said it and asked for her to be kicked out. That girl tainted that Panel's proceedings, she was a judge in her own cause. It was her who found a bullet that had not been fired on a visit to the locus/

She is trying to disguise by leaving so that she can come back to her tissue-paper ladled supporters for a pass. They see their undoing-that they are responsible for the deaths of 4 soldiers and about 27 Police Officers and about 50 civilians all over Nigeria who all died because

of their #LekkiLies. All of them have blood on their hands and eternal pain on their consciences. Until they purge themselves of these by apologising to Nigerians, the evil they did will haunt them forever. At 23, someone has become so notorious for evil. Same with the sWitch/

who was asked to bring her evidence to the Panel and did not show up. A frail looking thing who was able to carry dead weights of dead bodies and dropping them at the feet of soldiers who were shooting at her. Perhaps she was under the influence of drugs and was hallucinating/
WORLD

You May Also Like

meilong
meilong
@meilong15
一个北大毕业的殡葬工自述武汉封城期间的经历，凄惨。这应该才是武汉的真实情景，跟很多人的叙述是吻合的。


https://t.co/QYTO1SYedG
WUHAN FUNERAL WORKERS REPORT
Anu Satheesh \U0001f1ee\U0001f1f3
Anu Satheesh 🇮🇳...
@AnuSatheesh5
Samayapuram Mariamman Temple
#Trichy
#Tamilnadutemples 🚩

Samayapuram Mariamman Temple is located in Samayapuram of
 Tiruchirappalli district.  Mariyamman here is worshipped as Samayapurathal a form of Parashakti.
Amman vigraham here is made of sand and clay so


no abhishekam done to the main vigraham. Samayapuram Mariamman Temple is one of the famous Shakthi Sthal of Tamilnadu.

Story says that paramashiva created Kali, out of the poison that he drank during samudra mathanam.  As Devi originated from the Kaalakoota/ halahala poison,


thus the name Kaali. Mariamman is believed to be a form of Kaali, and is also known as Mahamayi. It is also believed that Maharaja Dasharatha offered his prayers here.

Mariamman is Parashakti herself who blesses with prosperity and she is believed to cure all diseases.


Paramashiva, Mahavishnu and Brahma Deva are believed to have taken blessings of Mariamman here.

Om Shakti Para Shakti
🙏🕉🙏
ALL
Advertisement
Amit Schandillia
Amit Schandillia
@Schandillia
[THREAD: HISTORY OF THE HINDU TEMPLE]
1/102
Four hours south of Aswan in Lower Nubia, right by the Nile, is a region dotted with temple complexes built more than 3,000 years ago. Some like the temples of Amada, Derr, and Beit el-Wali go as far back as 1500 BC.


2/102
A little further south, not far from the border with Sudan, is another complex dedicated to Ramses II, Hathor, and Nefertari in the village of Ipsambul, better known locally as Abu Sunbul and internationally as Abu Simbel. These go back to the 13th century BC.


3/102
Djeser-Djeseru, also known as the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Upper Egypt also dates to 1400 BC. Over 500 years older is the nearby Mentuhotep II, also a mortuary temple. Both were dedicated to the cult of Amun Ra, besides their respective pharaohs.


4/102
Far older is the Ġgantija complex of Malta. Going as far back as 3600 BC, this one comprises of two temples entirely made of stone and enclosed in a stone wall. From the figures therein, it's understood to be a site of some kind of a fertility cult worship.


5/102
Dating from the same period are the limestone megaliths of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, both said to have once hosted ritualistic sacrifices as part of the same fertility cult worship as found in the Ġgantija complex. Malta has some of the oldest temple complexes in Europe.
RELIGION
SK
SK
@sk_diary1
Kolaru Pathigam-Thevaram hymn composed by ThiruGnana Sambandar- #Thread

In Tamil Kol means planets,Aru means cut- set of songs in Kolaru Pathigam addresses all Navagrahas& last 2 lines of every song with end a plea to Bhagwan Shiva to reduce/erase the ill effects of Navagrahas


கோளறு பதிகம் - This pathigam was sung by Thirugnana Sambandar at Thirumaraikadu Kshetram -Vedaranyam,Tamilnadu

Thirugnana Sambandar & Appar(Thirunavukkarasar) travelled together to various Shiva Alayam to spread shivam & bhakti among people.They both reached Thirumaraikadu.


Thirumaraikadu(Vedaranyam) -
Appar & Sambandar were asked to enter the temple through side entrance.The main door was locked by Vedas many years ago.Appar&Sambandar sang devotional hymns praising Shiva, after which the gates opened & closed.After which main door opened for all.


After darshan of Bhagwan Shiva at Thirumaraikkadu,Sambandar received a message to travel to Madurai.
During that time, Samanam was on the rise in the Pandya Kingdom.The Pandya King converted to Samanam.The Queen Mangaiyarkkarasi was a staunch Shiva devotee and was upset.

Kularchirai Nayanar ,Chief Minister of Pandya kingdom was in agony by the turn of events.Queen requested Kulachirai Nayanar to escort Thiru gnana Sambandar to Madurai.Kularchirai Nayanar met Thiru gnana Sambandar at Thirumaraikkadu & requested him to visit Madurai.
ALL
William
William
@wimgz
🛠️ OPEN BUSINESS IDEAS 🛠️

Below a list of business/product ideas I had or read about.

They are worthless if they remain ideas and if you don't overcome the challenges in building them, so feel free to copy / tweak / implement them!
👇

Better: use one and make a MVP during the #24hrstartup challenge!

😻 Product Hunt Time
A clock that displays the time it is @ProductHunt
Also displays what you should do and where you should post, at each specific time during your launch

🚧 IndieCrunch - VC free tech news
Techcrunch but only for bootstrapped companies

🎧 Kickstarter for audiobooks
A lot of awesome books are not available as audio.
Crowdfund the money to buy the audio rights + a voice actor
MAKERS