Iran War, Election Season and the Strain on Washington: From the Battlefield to Congress By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada What began as a large scale military operation against Iran has quickly evolved into a confrontation with implications far beyond the initial airstrikes. The effects are visible not only across the Middle East but also inside the American political system, where questions of authority, strategy and electoral consequence are unfolding alongside developments on the battlefield. President Donald Trump has adopted an uncompromising tone. According to Reuters, he warned that any significant Iranian retaliation would be met with force “not seen before.”…
Author: Raja Zahid Khanzada
Pakistani American Press Association Condemns Threats Against Journalist Imtiaz Chandio WASHINGTON: The Pakistani American Press Association, the largest organization representing Pakistani journalists in the United States, has strongly condemned what it described as serious threats directed at Houston-based journalist Imtiaz Chandio, warning that intimidation of reporters for exposing alleged corruption undermines democratic norms. In a statement issued this week, PAPA President Khurram Shehzad and Executive Committee member Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada said Mr. Chandio, who commands millions of followers across social media platforms, has for years reported on alleged corruption within the provincial government of Sindh, including claims of bureaucratic…
Trump’s State of the Union: Claims of Power, The Noise of Dissent, and the Portrait of a Divided America ! By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Washington that night was not merely hosting a speech. It was conducting an examination of its own nerves. Beneath the vaulted dome of Congress, President Donald Trump stood before a joint session of the House and Senate, fulfilling one of the oldest constitutional rituals of the American republic. The State of the Union address is not simply an annual report. It is an act of national self-definition. The president must tell lawmakers and citizens alike…
https://youtube.com/shorts/GoXpewk1bq0?si=GRN4RbJ3rb8Ofj23 Paper Lanterns in a War Zone By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada As Ramadan approaches, Muslims across the world prepare for a sacred month. In cities from Jakarta to Dallas, families shop for dates and lanterns. Mosques ready their rows for the first night of Taraweeh. Homes glow softly with anticipation and prayer. Then a video appears on my phone. It is from Gaza. In a place where electricity flickers and homes have collapsed into dust, displaced children are decorating their tents with paper lanterns. They cannot hang glass lamps or string electric lights. Instead, they cut colored paper, draw…
From Civil Rights to the Presidential Race, Jesse Jackson’s Struggle and the Quiet Dimming of an Era By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Sometimes life grants a person moments that do not remain mere photographs on the canvas of time but become the pulse of history itself. The luncheon hosted by the Muslim Democratic Caucus during the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia was one such moment. Organized in honor of Muslim delegates from across the United States, the gathering carried the hum of civic pride and political anticipation. I found myself seated beside Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., and in…
https://youtu.be/RuVmWTIJp9E?si=H3oce6m4Vw1QGPi6 Frisco: “Romance 2026 Valentine’s Dance Party” Turns Into an Evening of Color and Music By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada FRISCO, Texas — Valentine’s Day in this North Texas suburb unfolded as a vivid celebration of culture and community when “Romance 2026 Valentine’s Dance Party,” organized by FunAsia in collaboration with 4Visions, brought together members of the South Asian community under one roof for an evening of music, color and shared festivity. Hosted at Prism Bar N Grill, the event opened its doors at 8 p.m., and within minutes the venue was transformed. Soft lighting, carefully curated décor and a…
https://youtu.be/rma1tAnmpbE?si=bWmsjsUwsyOhFseV Dallas: South Asian Community Turns Out in Force for “AURA: Valentine Edition” in Downtown By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada DALLAS: On a brisk February night in downtown Dallas, the city’s skyline shimmered behind the glowing lights of Palomino Ranch, formerly known as Bottle Blonde, as members of the South Asian community gathered for what organizers described as one of the season’s most anticipated Valentine celebrations. The event, titled “AURA: Valentine Edition,” was presented by TopShotEvents and spearheaded by its driving force, Vinay Singh. Billed as Dallas’s biggest techno, Bollywood and Punjabi night, the party drew a lively mix of…
https://youtu.be/BKZsar6g5tg?si=bsQ8JW1AWWHEIEF6 When Wealth Falls Silent and Conscience Speaks: Aamir Makhani, Makhani Welfare, and a Model of Service Built on Trust By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada This is not merely the story of one man’s success. It is an answer to a question that awakens, sooner or later, in the heart of anyone who achieves everything yet still feels an unspoken incompleteness. Born in the soil of Tando Muhammad Khan, a marginalized district of Sindh, Aamir Makhani grew up amid scarcity, limited opportunity, and the quiet endurance of poverty. It is in such landscapes that certain questions are born. Questions that…
Valentine’s Day Love, Obsession and Betrayal — The True Face of Devotion in History By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Another Valentine’s Day stands at the door. Red roses line the markets. Hearts shimmer in shop windows. Social media blooms with declarations of affection. Yet behind the color and ceremony, an ancient question waits in silence: What, after all, is love? The history of love is perhaps the oldest and most intricate narrative of human civilization. Wars have been chronicled, borders of empires drawn and redrawn, treaties forged and broken. But love — love is the force that has turned human…
https://youtu.be/rs1HHoc8myk?si=zyXdk8AYlhnApGHD Trump, the 2016 Election and Epstein: Pakistani Data Analytics, Email Exchanges and Unexpected Details By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada Dallas: The latest release of the Epstein files has once again returned the world to a familiar edge, where power, reputation, morality and fear converge in uneasy silence. Millions of pages, images, videos and redacted black boxes lay out a world that appears polished on the surface but, like a locked room, grows darker the longer one looks. Since the disclosure, the most visible reaction has not been careful reading but searching. Names are being typed into search bars faster…
