Situationer: The 2024 polio counter is still ticking

• Despite end of calendar year, total tally will become clear well into January as collected samples are tested
• Officials blame data forgery, use of vaccination drive as ‘bargaining chip’, security situation for resurgence

PAKISTAN and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the poliovirus is still endemic.

A glimmer of hope to get out of this ignominious list emerged in 2021, when the country reported only one case of the crippling disease. The hope persisted through 2022 and 2023, with 20 and six cases, respectively.

This sense of optimism even lasted through the first half of 2024, with only nine cases reported till July; before the sombering reality check — the virus not only returned, but has been resurgent.

The tally from months since August has been seven, eight, 19, 13 and 12.

Now, even though the calendar year has ended with the country reporting 68 cases, the count for 2024 will rise further, as samples collected this year continue being tested at the National Institute of Health (NIH). The final count for the outgoing year, therefore, is likely to come into view a few weeks into January.

Resurgence and challenges

Of the 68 cases that have surfaced so far, 27 were reported from Balochistan, 20 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

In terms of districts, Dera Ismail Khan reported the highest number of cases, 10, followed by seven from Qila Abdullah.

“The cases for 2024 may continue to surface as the incubation period of the detection of the virus is three weeks after collection of the sample,” an official of the National Insititute of Health said.

The results of samples collected in the last two weeks of December are still pending.

The major challenges to the eradication of poliovirus are vaccine refusals, data fudging and attacks on law enforcement personnel guarding vaccination teams, which prevent the development of ‘herd immunity’ against the disease.

While talking to Dawn, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Ayesha Raza Farooq said recent cases were increasing due to the immunity gap.

Ms Farooq also pointed to data forgery as one of the reasons, as in many cases, children are marked on their fingers as being vaccinated, despite not being given the dose.

“We have taken the provinces on board and are trying to address the issue. We have increased the surveillance and revamped the communication strategy,” she said.

The virus not only became rampant in 2024, but it also expanded beyond high-risk areas.

After the lone case in 2021, the country did not report any case for 15 months, the NIH officials told Dawn.

“The virus was limited to only a few districts of erstwhile Fata. Now, it has spread across the country, including three major blocks, i.e. Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar.”

Refusals

The official said that parents now openly refuse vaccinations for their children and insist on marking their fingers without administering the drops.

“In a city like Islamabad, around 1,000 refusals were reported. Moreover, in a number of areas, communities link polio campaigns with their demands, such as provision of drinking water and roads,” he said.

The poor law and order situation, particularly in Balochistan and KP, was also hampering efforts to eradicate the virus as vaccine drives get delayed due to attacks on polio teams.

According to the NIH official, va­c­cination campaigns should ideally start simultaneously in all pro­vinces. However, these drives were postponed in some areas mostly due to law and order situation.

Dr Nadeem Jan, an internationally acclaimed polio expert, said it was unfortunate that the government did not take ownership of the virus eradication programme as only two representatives from Pak­is­tan were part of the international body dealing with the disease.

He added that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) hub for Afghanistan and Pakistan is in Jordan, which should be shifted to Pakistan.

“The government should do the performance audit of the last 15 years of the polio programme to identify the weak areas and ensure accountability.”

Way forward

According to Ms Farooq, the government has taken several steps to address data forgery and plug gaps in vaccination.

The political leadership and law enforcement agencies were on board over the issue and information technology was being used to control the virus, she said.

“We have been focusing on low immunity union councils and on areas close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as in 2022, the virus entered Pakistan from the neighbouring countries.”

“There are some areas, such as Kurram Agency, where it is quite difficult to hold polio campaigns, but we are trying our best,” said Ms Farooq, who remained in the same post during the last government of PML-N.

“We have taken ownership of the programme and hope that the number of cases will reduce in 2025.”

According to Mr Jan, the government should integrate the polio eradication programme with the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Expanded Program of Immunisation (EPI) and other divisions so that its acceptance could be increased.

Dr Jan, who also served as health minister in the last caretaker setup, also said that attention should be paid to the issues faced by health workers responsible for administering the vaccines.

He suggested career paths for vaccinators who fear that they will lose jobs if the poliovirus is fully eradicated.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2025

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That’s a wrap: What did Dawn.com’s audience read most in 2024?

Welcome (back) to Dawn.com on the first day of 2025.

As we continue to report the news in its most original form, and find new and interesting ways to do so, here’s a snapshot of what you — our audience — read the most in 2024.

See the 10 stories with the highest number of views on Dawn.com below, with some surprises and some obvious entries.

10. Met Office forecasts heavy monsoon showers across the country from Aug 2 to 6

Published July 31

In late July, the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a forecast for heavy rainfall for the start of August and since monsoon rains tend to set alarm bells ringing, this article drew readers from all over the country.

Roads inundated as heavy rain lashes Lahore on July 12, 2024. — DawnNewsTV

The Met Office’s predictions became a dreadful reality as the subsequent rains wreaked havoc in most parts of the country. Cities like Karachi and Lahore were flooded with rainwater for weeks which brought the metropolises to a standstill.

Pakistan experiences its monsoon season from July to August, typically receiving around 255mm of rain each month. However, last year it received record-breaking rainfall amid the impending climate crisis.

Read this story here.

9. Massive oil, gas reserves found in Pakistani waters: senior security official

Published September 7

This Dawn report caught many people’s attention as the discovery of a substantial deposit of petroleum and natural gas in Pakistan’s territorial waters was described to be so large that it could turn around the country’s economic fortunes.

Oil and gas exploration activities have been in decline in recent years, and were not being carried out until last year when Pakistan relaunched a programme aimed at recovering the untapped indigenous hydrocarbon resources.

Some estimates suggested that this discovery constitutes the fourth-largest oil and gas reserves in the world.

Read more about the reserves here.

8. What is the 26th Constitutional Amendment?

Published October 20

There were plenty of constitutional updates and legal terminologies in the news in 2024, including the contentious legislation known as the 26th Constitutional Amendment pertaining to the judiciary.

This photo combo shows (L to R) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressing the National Assembly early on Oct 21, 2024. — X/NAofPakistan

The legislation stripped the Supreme Court’s suo motu powers, set the chief justice of Pakistan’s (CJP) term at three years and empowered the prime minister to appoint the next CJP from among the three most senior SC judges.

With the amendment being passed in a late-night National Assembly session, after a flurry of political activity (particularly at Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s house), readers wanted to know what exactly it was all about.

Read about the changes made to the Constitution here.

7. Javelin star Arshad Nadeem ends Pakistan’s 40-year wait for Olympic gold

Published August 8

The entire nation watched with pure joy and pride as the 27-year-old Javelin star Arshad Nadeem set a new Olympic record by winning a gold medal and ending Pakistan’s 40-year wait for a win.

Gold medallist Arshad Nadeem celebrates with his medal on the podium, France, on August 09, 2024. — Reuters

Ahead of the big day, Nadeem shared a heartfelt video message where he asked the nation for prayers. His humble words touched the hearts of many and his performance that night set off days of celebrations among a nation craving good news.

The Mian Channu-born athlete’s throw was Pakistan’s first individual gold medal, first track and field medal, and the second time a South Asian had a podium finish in track and field. It was also the sixth-longest throw ever, and the best in the world in 2024. (It was also the only time that Dawn.com featured confetti on its homepage in 2024.)

Read about his historic and wholesome win here.

6. Former DG ISI Faiz Hameed taken into military custody, court-martial initiated: ISPR

Published August 12

This story had everything that interests avid readers of Pakistani developments: a (former) spy chief, military, legal action, politics (as suspected at the time and confirmed in December) and even real estate. The news of former intelligence chief Faiz Hameed being taken into military custody marked the first time a court martial was initiated against a former spymaster in Pakistan.

His court-martial was initiated in connection with the Top City housing scheme scandal where the owner of the housing scheme filed a petition alleging that the ex-spymaster had misused his office, adding that crimes were committed against him and his family on Gen Hameed’s orders.

Gen Hameed was indicted for misusing powers and government resources, on allegations of violating the Army Act, four months after the arrest.

Know more about this case here.

5. Gulf employers not hiring Pakistanis due to ‘deplorable standard’

Published July 31

The Pakistani diaspora is made up of approximately 10.7 million individuals, primarily working in Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Thus, it was an alarming revelation that Gulf employers were shifting their preferences to hire workforce from other regional cou­ntries, mainly because of the “deplorable standard” of Pakistani workers.

The Senate Stand­ing Committee on Overseas Pakist­a­nis was presented a bleak picture of the situation of Pakistan labour force in Gulf countries. Stats such as Saudi authorities reporting that 90 per cent of all beggars arrested in the country were Pakistanis made their way to the public through this story, and raised questions as to how the situation would be dealt with, especially given the high number of Pakistanis seeking jobs in the region.

Read about the briefing here.

4. Courts must exercise caution in matters of faith: CJP

Published February 9

Former CJP Qazi Faez Isa came under fire following his verdict on the Mubarak Sani case when he overturned the petitioner’s conviction.

The petitioner was accused of distributing/disseminating a proscribed book, Tafseer-i-Sagheer, and had been arrested on Jan 7, 2023. He remained incarcerated for 13 months — more than double the permissible punishment. The court set aside the impugned orders and ordered the immediate release of the petitioner.

Later in July, it accepted the Punjab government’s plea to revisit its order, and declared that the right to profess religion and religious freedom, as ensured by the Constitution, is subject to law, morality and public order. This judgement kick-started a controversy and prompted a malicious campaign against the CJP.

On Aug 19, a group of charged protesters even managed to reach the SC to demonstrate against the judgement.

The controversy dialled down in Aug when the apex court accepted the Punjab government’s urgent application seeking omissions of certain portions from the court’s July 24 revised verdict after taking input from religious scholars.

Read the story on the court’s judgement here.

3. A harvest fit for a king

Published June 17

Never say only politics and politicians attract readers: the third most-read story of 2024 focused on the return of the king (of fruits). June marks the time of the year when mangoes finally appear in markets as scores of workers gather in searing heat across Sindh’s mango-growing regions to harvest and pack the fruit.

Farmers sort mangoes near Multan August 15, 2007. — Reuters

While Sindhri starts appearing on pushcarts in May, it is June that heralds the arrival of fully tasty fruit. Immature Sindhri usually gets picked first by growers, who harvest it as early as the end of April or early May, to capitalise on the market and export the fruit.

From farming practices to contractors, this article only added to the anticipation of mango season among Pakistanis (and global fans).

Read the harvest piece here.

2. Govt announces 4-day Eidul Fitr holidays from April 10

Published April 4

The Dawn.com newsroom may not have been off on Eid but the rest of Pakistan visited this story to mark their calendars for a four-day holiday prior the nearly always climactic sighting of the moon marking the end of Ramzan.

Muslims offer special morning prayers to start Eidul Fitr at the historic Badshahi Mosque in Lahore on April 10. — AFP

On April 10, the whole nation celebrated Eid across Pakistan after the Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee sighted the Shawwal moon a day earlier. The country observed the festival on the same day as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Indonesia and several other countries.

Read this story here.

1. Live: Elections 2024

Published February 1

The ‘will it, won’t it happen’ conundrum spilling over from the year before ended on February 8 and more than four million people tuned in to Dawn’s elections blog as the country voted in the 12th general elections.

The elections were bumpy from start to finish: uncertainty, protests, court verdicts, election symbols, rigging allegations, claims to victory, and those Forms 45 and 47, to name a few, kept the newsroom running round the clock and the audience in Pakistan and across the globe engrossed — despite the internet disruptions that came and stayed with the polling process.

PML-N was eventually deemed victorious and Shehbaz Sharif became the prime minister but the outcome of the elections remains steeped in controversy.

Take a look at the coverage of the elections here.

Our top 11-15

The next five most-read pieces of 2024 (numbers 11-15) are:

11. ‘Selfless devotion to duty’: COAS lauds Lahore cop for saving woman in Arabic print shirt from mob

Page views: 71,615

12. Emotional scenes as Olympic hero returns to Mian Channu

Page views: 68,957

13. Dubai Unlocked: Pakistan’s multi-billion dollar property pie

Page views: 66,356

14. India leads Pakistan in nuclear arms for first time

Page views: 66,262

15. 11 packaged snacks found ‘unfit’ for human consumption

Page views: 63,748

---

Compiled by Sabrina Haider.

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UBL arranges $300m loan for Pakistan

KARACHI: Amid the growing need for financing to meet external debt repayment obligations, the government has arranged a $300 million loan from United Bank Ltd (UBL).

According to a press release issued on Monday, UBL had arranged and financed a $300m short-term loan for the government of Pakistan through its UAE and Bahrain branches.

While the government is trying to arrange more financing for its debt servicing during the current fiscal year, it struggles to roll over the debt from China and other countries.

UBL has one of the largest international presences among Pakistani banks, with international assets exceeding $2.4 billion.

The bank said the deal shows the ability of UBL to offer clients seamless and reliable solutions, both in Pakistan and abroad. UBL enjoys a strong track record of successfully executing complex and high-value transactions.

Despite higher remittances and exports, the country needs at least $14bn to pay the external debt during 2024-25. The target reserves for the State Bank is $13bn at the end of FY25. After consistent increases in the last two months, the SBP reported an outflow of $228m to $11.853bn during the week ended on Dec 26.

It is important to note that the SBP has been buying dollars from the domestic market to keep its reserves up to a certain level required by the IMF under the conditions for the $7bn Extended Fund Facility.

“This transaction supports Pakistan’s external financing needs, in line with commitments to the IMF,” said UBL.

Agri partnership

HBL Microfinance Bank (HBL MfB) and HBL Zarai Services Ltd (HZSL), the pioneer agriculture-specialised extension services company in Pakistan, announced a strategic partnership on Monday to empower farmers through improved access to financial and agricultural support services.

This collaboration underscores a shared vision of fostering sustainable agricultural development and enhancing rural livelihoods.

Under the partnership, HBL MfB, with its extensive expertise in providing tailored financial solutions to smallholder farmers, will establish a presence at HBL Zarai’s Deras, thus offering microfinance products designed to meet their agricultural needs.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024

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Suspect sent on judicial remand for allegedly filming women at Khanewal garment shop’s changing rooms

A suspect who allegedly filmed women customers in the changing rooms of a garment retailer in Khanewal with his mobile phone was sent on judicial remand on Monday, police said.

Khanewal City Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Saeed told Dawn.com that the suspect, who worked for clothing brand Limelight, was presented before a judge today after videos were found on his phone.

“The judge put him in judicial custody,” SHO Saeed said, adding that the suspect was arrested on Sunday.

A first information report (FIR) was submitted on the SHO’s complaint at the City Khanewal Police Station on Saturday under Section 21-1D (offences against modesty of a natural person and minor) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, the suspect was an employee of the store who would allegedly film women customers while they changed clothes in the fitting rooms and also make advances on customers.

Dawn.com tried to contact the retailer for comment on the incident but could not get a response.

The SHO said he formed a raiding party and visited the store, apprehending an employee whose mobile yielded several compromised videos.

The FIR added the suspect admitted to his crimes and pointed out the involvement of two to three other unidentified accomplices as well.

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Appeals court upholds verdict in Donald Trump sexual abuse case

A United States federal appeals court on Monday upheld a jury verdict ordering President-elect Donald Trump to pay $5 million for sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll.

A New York jury found after a nine-day civil trial last year that the former president had sexually abused Carroll at a Manhattan department store in 1996.

Trump was ordered to pay $2m for sexual abuse and another $3m for defaming Carroll, a former advice columnist for Elle magazine.

Trump denied the allegations and appealed the verdict on the grounds that two other women who said Trump had sexually assaulted them too should not have been allowed to testify.

The three-judge panel of the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. “We conclude that Mr Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” they said.

“Further, he has not carried his burden to show that any claimed error or combination of claimed errors affected his substantial rights as required to warrant a new trial.”

Carroll was awarded $83m by another jury in a separate case she brought against Trump. He has also appealed that verdict.

Two federal cases brought against Trump by special counsel Jack Smith have been dismissed since he won the November 5 presidential election.

Trump was accused of mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election but Smith dropped the cases under a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president.

Trump was convicted in New York in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Judge Juan Merchan recently rejected a bid by the president-elect to have his conviction thrown out but has postponed sentencing indefinitely.

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More rallies in store for the PSX?

Pakistan’s equity market ripped higher in 2024, carrying the KSE-100 index to its record peak as the economic fundamentals stabilised and the State Bank started cutting interest rates. The benchmark index climbed to 116,169 points on Dec 17 (before settling down to 110,246 points on Friday) from 64,661 points on Jan 1.

This compares with the previous peak of around 52,000 points achieved in 2017. The stocks have gained much more rapidly after the announcement of the budget on June 12, when the index stood at 72,797 points, in the hope of anticipated approval of the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding programme of $7 billion.

But Pakistan’s stock market wasn’t the only one rising during the outgoing year.

Argentina’s stock market has surged 22-fold since July 2022 and Turkiye has also seen more than a four-fold increase in its equities compared to Pakistan’s two-fold rise, according to data collated by Ahmed Jamal Pirzada, a leading economist and Bristol professor.

“This appears spectacular. However, look closely, and much of this simply reflects these markets recovering the value they lost due to sharp exchange rate depreciation and subsequent inflation seen in these countries in the last two years,” he explained, giving a context to the ‘spectacular’ PSX performance, which earned it the distinction of being one of the best-performing markets during the year.

Despite the bull run, the market is still depressed in dollar and rupee terms compared to its peak in 2017

Inflation in Argentina and Turkiye remained above 100 per cent and 50pc, respectively during much of this period, he pointed out. Inflation in Pakistan also remained above 20pc between June 2022 and March 2024.

There are also other reasons contributing to the rebound in Pakistan’s stock market, he noted.

“The back-to-back crises, starting with the crisis in 2017-18, meant that the stock market remained depressed for much longer. The price-to-book ratio had fallen from an average of around 1.7 between 2008 and 2017 to only 0.7 by the second quarter of 2023. A similar trend is also seen for the price-to-earnings ratio, which fell from the average of around 10 between 2008 to 2017 to less than five in 2023.”

The macroeconomic stability due to improvement in the global economic environment and stringent macroeconomic policies at home has allowed the stock market to recover, Mr Pirzada, who is also part of the Islamabad-based independent Economic Advisory Group (EAG) said that as impressive as the recovery may look, the stock market has still not recovered to its 2017 peak when looked at in dollar terms. “Moreover, both the price-to-book and the price-to-earnings ratios still have a long way to go. As of today, the price-to-book and the price-to-earnings ratios stand at 1.2 and 6.7, respectively. These are comparable to levels last seen in 2021,” he argued.

In mid-November, the Karachi-based brokerage Arif Habib predicted that Pakistan’s stocks are expected to advance to 120,000 points by the end of next year as the nation’s economy shows improvement under a loan programme with the IMF and the currency stabilises. Another brokerage firm, Topline Securities, forecast the benchmark index to increase to 127,000 points by December 2025.

“The stage is set for a potential market re-rating with declining interest rates, a stable rupee, and improving macroeconomic indicators,” Arif Habib Ltd commented in a report. Pakistan’s economy has stabilised with inflation easing from record levels, allowing the central bank to cut the interest rate for five straight meetings to 13pc, the lowest in more than two years.

Aftab Ahmed Chaudhry, the managing director of LSE Capital and LSE Ventures with more than two and half decades of working in the equity markets, shares Mr Pirzada’s perspective on the country’s stock market surge. “The outgoing year has been an outlier year for the stock market. I have witnessed some bull runs happening in the market. Our valuations at that point in time rose to $100bn and we were included in the MCFI index.

“So you know things did happen despite there having been no consistent growth in the economy. In Pervez Musharraf’s time, it was the feel-good factor, and under Asif Ali Zardari, it was capital gains tax exemption that had stimulated the market,” he noted.

This time around, a few things happened together: initially, the stabilisation of the economy, hopes of the IMF programme and anticipation of a reduction in interest rates sustained and helped the market sentiment. “But after June, we saw the market gain aggressive momentum as interest rates started to fall steeply, and inflation plunged dramatically.

“The IMF also approved a new, longer, and larger funding programme. Also, the government introduced taxes on real estate in the budget to document the economy, leaving the market the only avenue for investment,” Mr Chaudhry elaborated. He does not agree with many who believe Pakistani shares have become excessively expensive.

“Our price-to-earnings value is still around 6; so on the whole our stocks are still cheaper in terms of dollars and earning multiples because the bulk of the increase in the stock market is coming from adjustments in prices, not innovation or economic dynamism,” he said.

How the market will perform next year is a concern shared by most small investors who have seen their savings lost in the previous bull runs.

A senior fund manager says, “Assets bounced back this year after staying depressed for a long time. The fact that the stocks were being traded at very unrealistic values has been the underlying factor for the surge we have seen in the share values. The correction was to happen.

“Now the momentum has broken and the start of 2025 appears to be a bit shaky due to both internal and external political and economic factors like the Trump team’s open support for Imran Khan and normalisation of returns on investment due to falling earnings of banks and other sectors.”

Mr Chaudhry believes the market is still attractive and might be headed for sustained growth. “We see the interest rates falling to a single digit and fiscal consolidation to continue under the IMF. This means the fundamentals are improving. So we don’t see much pressure.”

Nevertheless, he warns that factors like political volatility, the market heating up due to heavier investment inflows and more and more money chasing the same few stocks, and Trump’s return to the White House could prove to be major challenges for sustaining the upward market momentum next year.

Where do we go from here? “A low price-to-book and price-to-earnings ratio today compared to the 2008 — 2017 average may suggest that there is still room for the stock market,” said Mr Pirzada. “These ratios have proved useful in the literature for predicting stock prices over the medium to long run. However, the macroeconomic stability continues to stand on weak foundations.

“According to State Bank data, external debt servicing (broadly defined) over the next 12 months remains high at $30bn. Additionally, at 15 percentage points, the spreads for 5-year credit default swaps remain the third highest in the world. It is

not surprising to see that foreign investors continue to show limited interest in investing in Pakistan’s stock market.“

The performance of the Pakistani equity market has been lacklustre for the last five years as it could not exceed its 2017 peak despite a run-up in equity markets globally.

Stepping back, the Bristol economist added, a bigger concern is how poorly Pakistan’s stock market continues to perform even in good times. “For context, the price-to-book ratio for the US stock market (S&P 500) and the Indian stock market (BSE 100) was already much higher at close to 3 back in 2017. This increased further to 5.2 and 3.6 for the two countries, respectively.

“A similar story emerges from looking at the price-to-earnings ratio. A higher number generally reflects market optimism about future growth prospects. Why do markets remain pessimistic about Pakistan’s growth prospects even in supposedly good times is worth considering,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, December 30th, 2024

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Section 144 imposed in Karachi for New Year’s Eve: notification

The Karachi Commissioner issued a notification to impose Section 144 for a 48-hour period starting on December 31, it emerged on Sunday.

New Year’s Eve in Karachi sees citizens performing aerial gunfire and using fireworks which have caused injury in the past.

On December 31, 2023, then-Commissioner Muhammad Saleem Rajput imposed Section 144 “to safeguard the people of the city during New Year’s celebrations”.

According to a notification, the commissioner while exercising powers delegated by the provincial home department imposed the ban from December 31 to January 1, 2024.

Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period.

According to the notification dated December 24 — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi has imposed the ban based on information that “a large number of youngsters from different areas of the city will move to Seaview on motorcycles and cars for the celebrations of New Year”.

The notification adds that the presence of these people creates traffic jams and inconveniences “the residents of the area”.

South Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) requested the ban on displaying firearms, aerial firing and the use of fireworks to “safeguard the precious lives of the citizens”.

The commissioner noted that on New Year’s Eve, “some individuals get involved in aerial firing that may cause untoward incidents/loss of human lives”.

A “complete ban on carrying/display of arms, aerial firing and use of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve-2025” was notified, with the ban applicable within the local limits of Karachi from December 31 to January 1, 2025.

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Stocktaking

IN a wide-ranging presser on Friday, the DG ISPR touched on a variety of subjects, including the reasons behind the upsurge in terrorism, the military’s issues with the PTI, as well as the critical situation in Kurram tribal district.

He also observed that it was not a good idea for the PTI government at the time to initiate a dialogue with the banned TTP in 2021. Lt-Gen Ahmed Chaudhry said that the “illegal spectrum” in the country had political backing.

While the politicians are guilty of many sins, other institutions are not without blame either, as they have not done enough to stop illegality, and in some instances have even backed unconstitutional moves. So to pillory the politicians alone — which the establishment has been doing since the Ayub era — is hardly fair.

Where the factors that are fuelling militancy are concerned, the general was not wrong when he said that terrorism will cease when there is “justice … education, health” and good governance. Indeed, in the ex-Fata areas, which have become hotbeds of militant activity, integration has been slow and good governance lacking. So while the security forces have succeeded in the ‘clear’ and ‘hold’ dimensions, the civil administration has failed in the ‘build’ phase. Without the underdeveloped areas of KP and Balochistan receiving the same facilities as the settled areas or urban Pakistan, the militants will continue to exploit such inequalities. Regarding the PTI government’s peace talks with the TTP, it is hard to imagine that the establishment was not on board when these parleys were initiated. In fact, even after Imran Khan’s departure from PM House, the process continued for some time. So, once again, the civilian leadership alone is not to blame for misguided policies.

As for the general’s comment that Kurram is a “tribal land dispute”, that may be true, but other factors, such as sectarianism and militancy, cannot be brushed aside. Moreover, the blockade of Kurram, and the gruesome murders of innocent travellers on its roads, point to a far more sinister and complicated issue than just tribal real estate claims.

It is welcome that the powers that be are willing to look into the factors fuelling terrorism. However, such introspection needs to be holistic. The mistakes made by all state institutions need to be acknowledged, and a way forward found. All institutions must speak in unison against illegal activities in the country.

Moreover, rather than indulging in blame games, the political leadership and the military’s top brass, as well as other stakeholders, need to discuss both short- and long-term strategies to eradicate terrorism. These include kinetic actions, as well as sincere efforts to establish good governance and health and education facilities in the areas where militants go scouting for ‘talent’.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024

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Over 112,000 missing Syrians probably killed in Assad regime detention centres, says rights group

More than 112,000 Syrians forcibly disappeared under the Baath regime remain unaccounted for, with evidence suggesting many were killed in detention, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) reported.

The scale of torture and extrajudicial executions in Syrian prisons has been increasingly revealed following the collapse of the 61-year Baath Party regime on December 8.

The SNHR’s database includes records of approximately 136,000 individuals who were detained or forcibly disappeared during the Baath regime. The organisation has documented the release of about 24,200 prisoners from detention facilities across Syria since President Bashar Al-Assad’s ouster.

SNHR Chairman Fadel Abdul Ghany told Anadolu that the group is currently verifying details of those freed from prisons in Aleppo on November 28, Hama on December 5, Homs on December 7, and Damascus on December 8.

“After excluding recent releases, 112,414 individuals detained by the regime remain unaccounted for and were most likely killed,” said Abdul Ghany. “Since their bodies have not been returned to their families, they are still categorised as forcibly disappeared … There is no evidence to suggest they are still alive.”

Assad regime deliberately delayed recording death data

Ghany said the regime deliberately delayed recording deaths in civil registries to prolong families’ anguish.

He highlighted that people killed by the Baath regime often had two dates recorded in the civil registry: the actual date of their death and the delayed date of its registration, sometimes years apart.

“They were killed and registered without notifying their families, leaving them to endure ongoing suffering while awaiting news or the discovery of mass graves,” he said, adding that the regime used this tactic to give false hope.

Mass graves

Ghany noted that dozens of mass graves remain undiscovered across Syria. “Only a few mass graves have been uncovered, and there are rumours of many more,” he said.

He stressed that identifying bodies and matching them with samples from families of the disappeared is a highly complex process, emphasising that only when bodies are identified can the fate of the forcibly disappeared be confirmed.

He also cautioned against fostering false hope among families regarding rumours of secret underground prisons. Ghany said that all of the regime’s prisons were opened after December 8. There is no one left in these facilities, nor are there any secret prisons.

Established in June 2011 to document systematic human rights violations in Syria, the SNHR continues its efforts under Abdul Ghany’s leadership as thousands of families await news of their missing loved ones.

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Govt close to settlement of madressah conundrum

• President expected to introduce ordinance next week after cabinet signs off on changes to stalled seminary registration law
• Cabinet green-lights carbon markets policy to pave way for voluntary markets, cooperative approaches

ISLAMABAD: The government signed off on two key steps during Friday’s meeting of the federal cabinet, paving the way for the adoption of a madressah registration law that would satisfy the JUI-Fazl, as well as green-lighting a policy that would allow the country to trade carbon credits on the international market.

JUI-F’s Senator Kamran Murtaza, who was involved in the preparation of the legal framework under which the latest version of the Societies Registration (Amendment) law will be adopted, told Dawn on Friday that President Asif Zardari would issue an ordinance following the cabinet nod.

The steps okayed included amendments to the law previously passed by parliament, which would give religious seminaries the option to register themselves, either with the relevant DC office or the Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE).

That move is expected to come next week in the shape of a presidential ordinance, and would be applicable to the extent of the federal capital, a member of the federal cabinet told Dawn.

He said that following the cabinet meeting, the prime minister had sent the ordinance to the Presidency, despite the president’s earlier reservations with the possible international fallout of changing the law currently in vogue.

“We have accepted all demands of the JUI-F [through] the amended act,” the cabinet member said.

“After [the ordinance is promulgated], parliament has 120 days to secure its approval from both the houses to make it part of the law,” Senator Murtaza told Dawn.

The amendment to the Societies Act to shift the registration of seminaries away from the DGRE was part of a deal, made by the JUI-F in exchange for supporting the government for the passage of the 26th constitutional amendment.

The registration of seminaries was made mandatory in 2005 under an amendment to the Societies Act 1860. However, following the attack on the Army Public School in 2014, there was intense pressure to place the regulation of seminaries under the interior ministry.

After three years of consultations, the five seminary boards agreed to place madressahs under the administrative control of the Federal Education Department.

Since 2019, ten new boards have been established, which seemingly pose a challenge to the monopoly enjoyed by the five traditional seminary boards.

The Societies Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024, which would revert control of seminaries from the education department to the DCs, was approved by both houses of parliament alongside the 26th amendment. However, it was not signed by President Asif Ali Zardari, who returned the bill to the National Assembly in late October due to “several technical flaws”.

When the Maulana learnt of this development, he threatened to launch protests against the government to force it to accept the bill. However, the delay in its approval led to an open war of narratives between clerics supporting the registration of madressahs under the DGRE, and those in favour of shifting it under the DC office, led by the JUI-F.

Talking to Dawn, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Allama Tahir Ashrafi said that since seminaries provide education, they should be under the education ministry.

“We have agreed to the decision to avoid any conflict among the clerics, despite the fact that we have a clear majority in this sector with 10 seminary boards, and majority of 18,600 madressahs are under these boards, where around 2.2 million students get modern education along with religious learning,” he said.

Carbon policy approved

Also on Friday, the cabinet approved a carbon markets policy, which will allow the country to trade carbon credits — one carbon credit is equal to one tonne of CO2 equivalent — in the international market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The adoption of the policy follows the launch of the carbon market policy at COP29 in Baku, hoping to attract green investments, achieve environmental stability, and plug the climate finance gap. The approval of the carbon markets policy by the federal cabinet paves the way for cooperative approaches and voluntary carbon markets.

Under the voluntary carbon markets (VCM), carbon credits can be sold to any entity in the international market after their registration with the national registry whereas the cooperative approaches pertain to carbon trading with other governments in the form of internationally traded mitigation outcomes.

The projects set up under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism will also be shifted to the Sustainable Development Mechanism of the Paris Agreement. At present, Pakistan has only one such project under the Kyoto Protocol i.e. Delta Blue Carbon, which has reportedly earned $40 million in carbon credits.

In order to capitalise on carbon markets, the government is working on a national carbon registry, which will have a database of carbon projects. This registry will be linked to other national registries as well as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

For a carbon project to be approved under a cooperative approach, it will go through four stages. Firstly, a project note information will be submitted, which will be followed by a letter of intent (LOI).

The LOI will lead to a project design document which will have to be completed in a two-year period and a grace period of 180 days.

After the approval of the project design document, a letter of authorisation will be issued for carbon trading, said Sana Rasool, a carbon market specialist at the climate change ministry. She said Pakistan has had a good experience with the Delta Blue Carbon project that comparatively did well and the country is well-prepared to expand its reach into these markets.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024

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German president dissolves parliament for February 23 snap elections

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday dissolved Germany’s lower house of parliament to pave the way for snap elections on February 23 following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way coalition.

“Especially in difficult times, like now, stability requires a government capable of acting, and reliable majorities in parliament,” which was why early elections were the right way forward for Germany, Steinmeier said in Berlin.

After the elections, problem-solving must become the core business of politics again, added Steinmeier in a speech.

The president, whose post has been largely ceremonial in the post-war era, also called for the election campaign to be conducted fairly and transparently.

“External influence is a danger to democracy, whether it is covert, as was evidently the case recently in the Romanian elections, or open and blatant, as is currently being practiced particularly intensively on (social media) platform X,” he said.

Scholz, a Social Democrat who will head a caretaker government until a new one can be formed, lost a confidence vote in parliament earlier this month after the departure of Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s Free Democrats left his unwieldy governing coalition without a legislative majority.

The vote also kicked off election campaigning in earnest, with conservative challenger Friedrich Merz, who surveys suggest is likely to replace Scholz, asserting that the incumbent government had imposed excessive regulations and stifled growth.

The conservatives hold a comfortable lead of more than 10 points over the Social Democrats (SPD) in most polls. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is slightly ahead of the SPD, while the Greens, a coalition partner, are in fourth place.

The mainstream parties have refused to govern with the AfD, but its presence complicates the parliamentary arithmetic, making shaky coalitions more likely.

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Protest is patriotic

IT is to be expected that the leader of a country, whether elected, or belonging to the military, or installed in office with the help of non-democratic and authoritarian forces, would say something like ‘civil disobedience is anti-national’ and that this suggests ‘enmity with the country’. One expects this from those who feel threatened by the power of the people, especially when such presumed power is ephemeral.

In fact, protest and criticism of those in power (whether in government or behind the scenes), and even civil disobedience, if it comes to that, are patriotic acts. The right of citizens to protest and to articulate their causes when ignored through other means, whether through parliament or through the justice system, is part of the legitimate and democratic framework of praxis.

Under authoritarian regimes or under direct military rule, which we have experienced for some decades, such protests have far graver consequences than they do under civilian or elected regimes, even when many citizens question the election results. We have enough martyrs in our historical record who gave their lives protesting and fighting for justice and democracy under military regimes; we even celebrate their sacrifices. These are our many heroes. In fact, we revere one on her death anniversary today.

The history of Pakistan’s civilian and political movements contains ample examples of protests for just causes.

The return to democracy in Pakistan, at every instance, has been due to people’s protest and so-called civil disobedience by political parties and citizens. Whether it was the movement against Gen Ayub in 1968, led by Z.A. Bhutto along with students and workers, or the MRD movement led by the PPP in 1983, it was political parties who led these protests. In 2007, lawyers played an instrumental role in overthrowing a military dictator who was forced to resign and flee after 2008. The political party in power today, the PML-N, has also played a very active and effective role in leading protests against one military regime in the past. Things may have changed today for reasons of expediency, but the history of Pakistan’s civilian and political movements contains ample examples of protests for just causes.

Such statements are especially hypocritical when governments and officials celebrate civil disobedience and protest to overthrow regimes not to their liking in other countries. Our own region offers such examples in the very recent past. The overthrow of the Hasina Wajed regime by Bangladesh’s popular revolution a few months ago has given a huge advantage and opening to Pakistan, with relations restored to levels unheard of for decades. The second Fall of Dhaka may not have been publicly celebrated by officials in Pakistan, but it has been to their benefit. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, it was another people’s revolution which dismantled a predatory state as all other options had failed.

Even if protest and civil disobedience are not meant to undertake regime change and topple a government, they are effective tools to underscore grievances and injustice. Almost every day there are protests all over the world, as well as in Pakistan, which go unreported since the media is increasingly controlled. Protests against simple things like the price of food, fuel, or other utilities, or regarding issues particular to a region, are increasingly articulated by people affected by policies where citizens’ rights are ignored or trampled upon. This is not simply in the so-called ‘peripheral’ regions of the country; discontent is expressed and manifests even in its heartland, including in its major cities, and often concerns local and particular issues such as the right to land, labour, water, and decent housing.

On a larger scale, whether they are public gatherings in Balochistan led by Mahrang Baloch, or in the unsettled regions of KP and Gilgit-Baltistan, large and growing groups of citizens have been gathering to protest the severe injustices they face. These gatherings, movements, or protests need not always be ‘anti-national’ but can always take that turn. Often, such protest is to build awareness, make coalitions, and create public and collective action to underscore what cannot be expressed through other means. By being suppressed or ignored by those in power, the discontent doesn’t go away; it festers and re-emerges whenever needed. Protests, subsequently, become movements, which lead to uprisings. It is best to understand, acknowledge, engage, and negotiate at times when unrest is observed and growing, rather than to suppress it when it is too late, and the armed strength of the state is required.

Moreover, globally, the likes of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi are celebrated as heroes for freedom and justice, not simply because of what they wrote or said, but because of their active involvement in public protest and civil disobedience. In fact, Pakistan and India would not have been free or independent had it not been for Mohandas Gandhi’s — literally — ‘civil disobedience’ movement. Palestinian freedom, which has always had an ingrained element of protest since 1948, grew into what have been ‘civil disobedience’ movements, and now not even armed resistance offers any hope to the people of Palestine. Such protest and civil disobedience movements are lauded by those who support them, but are suppressed by those in power. The history of anti-colonialism and freedom movements would be incomplete without such examples, as would those against military and authoritarian regimes.

Clearly, protests and raising issues are ingrained elements of democratic rights and practices. Democracies are strengthened by such civic action, and societies often benefit by such interventions in the existing, oppressive, social, economic, and political order. Not all protests and revolutions succeed, and the reaction to many such movements is often far worse than what people started out with, often ending in further terror and oppression. Yet, genuine democracy allows for criticism, protest, and challenges to the structures of power where negotiation and accommodation provide ways to resolve differences and reach agreement. Those who call civil disobedience anti-national or unpatriotic are those who have the most to fear and are the most insecure of their imagined power.

The writer is a political economist and heads the IBA, Karachi. The views are his own and do not represent those of the institution.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024

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FO parries questions on air strikes, US official’s comments

ISLAMABAD: Amid a flurry of activity on the diplomatic front, the year-end press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday left several questions unanswered, as the Foreign Office spokesperson parried queries regarding recent air strikes on Afghanistan, as well as pro-Imran Khan statements from an official of the incoming Donald Trump administration.

Responding to a volley of questions about voices from the US, including President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming aide, Richard Grenell, demanding Imran Khan’s release, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said she would not like to comment on “anyone making statements in their individual capacity”.

“We would like to have positive, constructive relations with the United States on the basis of mutual respect, mutual interest and non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs… We will continue to engage with officials and public personalities in the United States and discuss with them, issues of mutual interest and mutual concern,” she remarked.

Talking about the recent sanctions imposed on three commercial entities and one government entity involved with Pakistan’s missile programme, she said these measures were taken by US authorities unilaterally and were not the result of bilateral discussions or negotiations.

“We believe these unilateral measures are unfounded and irrational. It is important that in taking such measures, the United States shall take into account strategic stability in South Asia,” the spokesperson added.

She reiterated that Pakistan’s strategic and missile programme eas defensive in nature. “It is not at all directed against the United States or any other country. It is regional in context, it’s a modest programme. So we do not understand the logic that this modest programme of a friendly country in South Asia could somehow threaten the security of a superpower,” she remarked.

Military trials

Responding to questions about strong statements from Western capitals regarding the recent conviction of civilians by military courts — and the threat of Pakistan losing its GSP-plus status — Ms Baloch said that Pakistan was fully committed to its international human rights obligations.

She reassured the international community that those sentenced by court martial would be afforded remedy by the country’s legal system and reaffirmed commitment to “international human rights obligations”.

“Pakistani system has the remedy of judicial review by Superior Courts, and it guarantees promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We will continue to uphold our Constitution and Pakistani law and our obligations under international law,” she said.

She also underlined that Pakistan’s relations with the European Union were multifaceted. “This is a mutually beneficial relationship. It is not a one agenda relationship. We will continue to work with the European Union to promote this relationship and to move forward.”

Afghanistan airstrikes

Although multiple questions were posed to her regarding the recent air strikes, claimed by security officials as having targeted camps of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, she avoided directly confirming the action.

However, she maintained that Pakistan’s security and law enforcement personnel do conduct operations in the border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terror groups, including the TTP.

“These operations are carefully selected and are based on authentic and concrete intelligence,” she said, without elaborating.

She was also asked about the apparent disconnect in diplomacy and military actions — as Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq was in Kabul for talks the day of the air strike.

But sidestepping the question, she maintained that the special envoy had discussed all matters relating to the terror groups with Afghan leaders, adding that Pakistan believed in dialogue and diplomacy and had prioritised diplomacy in its dealings with Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024

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Govt makes no budgetary borrowing in first half

KARACHI: The government borrowings from banks for budgetary support were negative during the first half of the current fiscal year ending Dec 31, indicating higher liquidity in the national exchequer.

The State Bank’s latest data for the July 1 to Dec 13 period showed a net debt retirement of Rs2.03 trillion against a net borrowing of Rs2.875tr in the same period last year.

Experts believe this is historical as the governments in the past had been borrowing heavily for budgetary support, and this debt retirement could be the result of Rs2.7tr inflows from the State Bank in profit.

They also noted that this debt retirement was significant given that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) missed the projected collection target during the first five months of 2024-25.

Oozing with liquidity, state retires Rs2.03tr debt in July-December

The government borrowed Rs7.479tr in FY24 against Rs3.748tr in FY23, reflecting a doubling of borrowing for budgetary support compared to the preceding year.

The borrowing was a central point as it showed the fiscal deficit. In FY24, the budget deficit was 6.8pc of the gross domestic product (GDP) or Rs7.206tr despite the provincial surplus of Rs518.213 billion.

This fiscal deficit was revised to 7.4 per cent of the GDP in FY24. Since the country is in the IMF programme, the fiscal deficit must be reduced compared to the last year.

The total fiscal deficit for FY25 stands at Rs7.283tr, representing 5.9pc of GDP, down from the revised 7.4pc in FY24. The total budget outlay for FY25 is Rs18.9tr, including gross revenue receipts (tax and non-tax), non-bank borrowing, bank borrowing, net external receipts, and privatisation proceeds. The economic growth projection is 3.6pc.

Financial experts said since the FBR is short of the collection target, the government will borrow for budgetary support in the second half of the current fiscal year.

Independent economists have been writing that the government has yet not introduced the economic reforms committed with the IMF. They said the IMF review mission for the first review under the 37-month $7bn Extended Fund Facility is due in March, and non-implementation of the promised reforms could create serious problems.

So far, the government has failed to improve its revenue as per the target, which may result in a higher fiscal deficit than the projection.

The State Bank’s data showed the borrowing stock for budgetary support reached Rs29.723tr by the end of June 2024.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2024

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PTI’s Sheikh Waqas Akram slams info minister for ‘advocating for military courts’

PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Wednesday criticised Information Minister Attaullah Tarar for advocating for the trial of civilians in military courts, stating that the trials “tarnished Pakistan’s democratic and constitutional image around the world”.

Twenty-five PTI activists were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment ranging from two to 10 years by a military court for their involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots, the military’s media wing said on December 21.

The United Kingdom on Monday said the trial of civilians in military courts “lacks transparency”, while the European Union expressed concern, stating that “these verdicts are seen as inconsistent with the obligations that Pakistan has undertaken under the Inter­national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.

During a press conference today, the information minister argued that the military will prosecute those who attack military installations, even if they are civilians.

Responding to foreign criticism, Tarar said that Pakistan’s prosecution of civilians in military courts follows a legal process established by parliament. He maintained that the Supreme Court orders ensure fair trials with rights to counsel, family access, records, and appeals.

In a written statement posted on the PTI’s official X account, Akram called Tarar’s press conference “a collection of lies and superstitions”, adding that “no serious statement” can be expected from the current administration.

“Advocating for military courts is the only means of survival for this government,” Akram wrote. “They have the bloodstains of the Constitution and democracy on their sleeves and know that they are no longer worthy of facing the people.”

The PTI information secretary added that military courts had “tarnished Pakistan’s democratic and constitutional image across the world”.

“To save their politics, these people [the PML-N] have sold the constitution, law, democracy, the fundamental rights of the people, and even future generations,” he added.

Addressing Tarar, Akram told him to investigate the events of May 9, 2023, as well as allegations of electoral fraud in February’s General Elections.

Later on Wednesday, Akram uploaded a video statement to X, where he welcomed international scrutiny of military trials, mentioning the United States, UK and EU by name.

“The international community is talking about this, but Pakistan is not the only country criticised for human rights violations that have taken place,” he said, emphasising that America was a “historical partner” to Pakistan.

“If something happens here, people will talk. The PTI cannot shut anyone’s mouth or stop them from speaking,” he added.

Citing the example of incoming US special envoy Richard Grennell — one of the many political actors calling for Imran’s release — Akram said that the international community “believes in human rights and democracy” and maintained that this criticism “should not be treated as foreign interference”.

“The PTI as a party is grateful for those speaking up for human rights and upholding the rule of law,” Akram said, concluding his statement.

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Kurram ‘roadmap’

THOUGH the KP government has hammered out a seemingly comprehensive ‘roadmap’ to bring peace to Kurram district, the barbaric murder and decapitation of two men on Monday on their way to Parachinar underscores the fact that implementing these measures will require the state’s full commitment.

Influenced by decades-old tribal and sectarian rivalries, with the state mostly playing the role of bystander, and complicated by geopolitical factors, the Kurram conundrum will require more than mere statements to resolve. From the looks of it, the KP cabinet’s roadmap seems quite detailed. For example, it envisions a special force to protect the region’s thoroughfares, a deweaponisation drive, as well as measures to punish hatemongers spreading incendiary content online. If implemented in full, these steps could bring peace and healing to Kurram. But it is a very big ‘if’.

The latest round of bloodletting was sparked after a convoy was attacked last month; over 130 lives have been lost in the violence. Moreover, the main road to Peshawar has been blocked for over two months, resulting in severe shortages in Kurram. The most heart-wrenching outcome of this de facto blockade has been the fact that the district faces a shortage of medicine; according to social worker Faisal Edhi, around 50 babies have died due to lack of treatment. This is an unconscionable state of affairs in any civilised society.

State functionaries insist there is no shortage, and both public and private actors have started ferrying in lifesaving drugs, along with airlifting critical patients to Peshawar. But these are stopgap measures, and only the permanent reopening of Kurram’s thoroughfares — with safety of travellers guaranteed by the state — can end the suffering of the district’s people.

Deweaponisation of the area’s armed groups is also key to bringing peace, as the roadmap has observed. Both the Shia and Sunni communities of Kurram have access to heavy arms, thanks to the presence of militant groups belonging to both sides. Therefore, the state must confiscate heavy weapons across the board to ensure peace. However, some tribes feel that if their arms are taken away, they will become sitting ducks for terrorist groups based just across the border in Afghanistan, as well as local militants.

The state must provide ironclad guarantees that the local population will be protected from all forms of terrorism, and that no militant group will be able to operate in the area. Up till now, successive federal and provincial governments, as well as the security establishment, have been unable to judiciously resolve Kurram’s complex and interwoven conflicts, and guarantee peace to its people.

Hopefully, the fresh roadmap can change things, but only if all pillars of the state are interested in having it fully implemented. The people of Kurram have suffered enough.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024

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Pakistan strikes TTP camps in Afghanistan

PESHAWAR: Pakistani fighter jets bombed four locations, said to be camps of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in Afghanistan’s eastern Pak­tika province, killing and wounding several suspec­ted terrorists, security officials said on Tuesday night.

Sources said that TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of Bernal district were targeted, including one that was used by Sher Zaman alias Mukhlis Yar, Commander Abu Hamza, Commander Akhtar Muhammad and the head of TTP’s media arm, Umar Media.

In a post on X by the Afghan defence ministry, the Afghan Taliban regime confirmed reports of the strike carried out by Pakis­tani forces, but claimed that the dead and injured included a number of children and other civilians.

More information was not available until the time of going to print.

The strikes came the same day that a Pakistani delegation, led by Special Representative Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, met interim Interior Minister Sirajudddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi in Kabul to resume diplomatic dialogue after a year-long hiatus.s.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2024

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Country’s legal system aligns with int’l law, says FO amid criticism over military trials

The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday — in a response to critical statements over the recent sentencing of 25 civilians by military courts — said that the country’s legal system was consistent with “international human rights law, including provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)”.

This week, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States raised concerns over the sentencing, which came after a military court last week sentenced 25 PTI activists to imprisonment ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots, which broke out following the arrest of PTI founder Imran Khan.

The EU spokesperson recalled that under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), beneficiary countries, including Pakistan, have voluntarily agreed to implement effectively 27 international core conventions, including the ICCPR, in order to continue benefitting from GSP+ status.

Meanwhile, the PTI — whose activists were among the men sentenced by military courts last week — maintained its criticism of the verdicts.

Calling the international community’s apprehensions “well-founded and justified”, the PTI yesterday expressed the fear that trying civilians in military courts could further isolate Pakistan on the global stage.

In a statement issued today, the FO said that the legal system in the country was consistent with international human rights law.

“It has remedies of judicial review by the superior courts and guarantees promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” it said, adding that the verdicts were made under a law enacted by the parliament and in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court.

“Pakistan believes in constructive and productive dialogue to promote principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

The statement said that Pakistan was fully committed to implementing the commitments made under the “GSP Plus Scheme and core international human rights conventions”.

“We will continue to engage with our international partners including the European Union to uphold the international human rights law, without any discrimination and double standards,” it said.

Military court sentences civilians to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years

Military courts sentenced 25 civilians on Dec 21 to prison terms ranging from two to 10 years for their involvement in violent attacks on military installations on May 9 last year.

The development came after SC’s constitutional bench conditionally allowed military courts to pronounce the verdicts of 85 under-custody civilians in cases pertaining to the May 9 riots.

Following the announcement, persons who can be released after remissions can “be released forthwith and the persons who have to yet undergo the sentence awarded to them, their custody” will be handed over to the “concerned jail authorities”, as per the SC order.

In its statement, the military said, “In light of the Supreme Court decision, Field General Court Martial (FGCM) have in first phase promulgated the punishments to following 25 accused; after examining all evidence, affording all legal rights to the accused and completion of due process.”

In the first phase of sentencing, the military courts have handed down punishments ranging from two to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

“All convicts retain the right to appeal and other legal recourses, as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution,” the ISPR said.

It further said that “promulgation of the sentences of remaining accused is also being done and will be announced shortly as and when the due process is complete”.

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CJP Yahya Afridi attends Christmas celebration in SC

ISLAMABAD: A ceremony was held in the Supreme Court on Monday to celebrate Christmas.

The event was attended by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi, lawyers and Supreme Court employees from the Christian community.

CJP Afridi cut a cake in the special ceremony held to foster inclusivity and harmony.

While addressing the event, CJP Afridi emphasised the importance of unity and inter-faith harmony.

He said the judiciary was committed to upholding the Constitutional principles of equality and religious freedom. CJP also extended his heartfelt greetings to Christian employees and members of the legal fraternity, acknowledging their valuable contributions to the justice system.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024

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France’s Macron announces fourth government of the year

French President Emmanuel Macron named a new government on Monday evening putting together a team under Francois Bayrou, his fourth prime minister of the year, to drag the second-largest EU economy out of a political crisis.

Macron named former prime minister Elisabeth Borne as education minister in a new cabinet under centrist Bayrou, the presidency said.

Another former premier, Manuel Valls, returned as overseas territories minister while former interior minister Gerald Darmanin became justice minister.

Both Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot kept their jobs, the presidency said.

Conservative Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, also stayed in his post.

The difficult job of delivering a budget plan for next year falls to Eric Lombard, the new economy minister.

The inclusion of two former prime ministers indicates Macron’s desire for a heavyweight government that will enjoy stability and not share the fate of Bayrou’s predecessor Michel Barnier.

The priority for 73-year-old Bayrou is to make sure his government can survive a no-confidence vote and that it passes a cost-cutting budget for 2025.

The unexpected comeback of Valls, premier from 2014 to 2016, as the head of the overseas territories ministry indicates the importance of the post after authorities were strongly criticised for their response to the deadly cyclone on the Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, which killed at least 35 people.

Darmanin had long been known to covet the post of foreign minister but after days of intense discussions will have to content himself with the justice ministry.

The announcement came as France observed a day of mourning for the victims in the cyclone-hit Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, France’s poorest overseas territory.

Bayrou, the head of the centrist MoDem group, which is allied to Macron’s party, was appointed on December 13. Many already predict Bayrou will struggle to survive.

France has been mired in deadlock since Macron gambled on snap elections this summer in the hopes of bolstering his authority. The move backfired, with voters returning a parliament fractured between three rival blocs.

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Mob torches bus after Karachi woman dies in accident

KARACHI: An angry mob torched a bus after it ran over and killed a woman and injured her husband in an accident on the Ayesha Manzil flyover on Sunday afternoon, said police and rescue service officials.

Azizabad SHO Aamir Azam said that apparently a fast-moving bus of 4-L route while overtaking on the flyover hit the couple riding a motorcycle.

As a result, Bushra, 25, died while her husband, Dod Lal Misbah, 30, suffered injuries.

The driver abandoned the bus and fled.

The incident angered area people who set the vehicle on fire when the passengers disembarked from it.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024

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Protest against Kurram road closures continues

• Faisal Edhi claims 50 deaths in Parachinar due to lack of medical facilities
• KP launches helicopter service to shift trapped people
• Punjab govt sends another consignment of essential items

KURRAM: Protests over the prolonged closure of transportation routes continued on Sunday in Kurram, with residents braving freezing temperatures in a sit-in outside the Parachinar Press Club.

Philanthropist Faisal Edhi said that 50 children have died due to a lack of medical facilities at hospitals and other health centres, while independent sources suggested the toll might be even higher.

Speaking to protesters, Tehsil Council Chairman Agha Muzammil Hussain lamented that the people of Parachinar and surrounding areas had been besieged due to road closures, and severe shortages of essential food items and medicines had worsened the situation.

He slammed the government for being “bent on disarming besieged citizens”, adding that the government’s actions “are tantamount to leaving innocent people at the mercy of terrorists. We cannot accept such policies under any circumstances”.

MPA Ali Hadi Irfani also criticised the government for making “unnecessary decisions” and called for urgent action to ensure public safety and relief efforts. He praised Faisal Edhi’s initiatives and urged the government to adopt more effective measures to ease the crisis.

Faisal Edhi has launched an air ambulance service to transport patients from Parachinar to Pesha­war and bring medicines back to the besieged region. He said that more than 50 children have died in local hospitals due to the unavailability of treatment facilities.

Residents are also facing severe food shortages, with restaurants, tandoors and other shops remaining closed due to a lack of supplies. Cooking oil, gas and other essentials remain scarce, leaving families struggling to survive.

District administration officials said that negotiations were underway to open the roads and other measures, while medicines were being delivered to the area through helicopters and patients were being taken to Peshawar.

A man carries his babies as he waits for a helicopter at Parachinar airport.—Shahbaz Butt/White Star

KP chopper service

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also launched helicopter services to address the crisis. Some 53 people, including 14 patients, were airlifted from Parachinar to safer locations in Peshawar on Saturday, the APP reported.

Besides, 16 jirga members and official staff were shifted to Parachinar on Sunday in the first helicopter flight, 27 more people were shifted to Thall in the second flight, and stranded people in Thall were shifted to Parachinar in the third flight.

According to an official statement, over 100 individuals were expected to be relocated via helicopter flights on Sunday, with more medicines and essential supplies being delivered to Parachinar.

The government reported that 1,850 kilograms of medicines worth Rs12 million were airlifted to Parachinar on Saturday. Overall, medicines, including life-saving drugs, worth Rs60m have been dispatched through seven helicopter flights.

Punjab relief efforts

The Punjab government sent a second consignment of 41 essential items, including medicines, to Parachinar on Sunday, the APP reported.

According to the authorities, more medicines were being sent to Parachinar. The essential medicines comprised 24 items, including insulin, rabies vaccine and other life-saving drugs.

So far, 12 large consignments of essential medicines have reached Parachinar, while arran­ge­ments for the delivery of more medicines have been completed. One elderly patient from Parachinar was also recently airlifted to Islam­abad for immediate operation.

Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz said her government is prioritising humanitarian assistance over politics.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024

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