While a debate rages in Pakistan about the purchase and use of a private jet by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the Premier (chief minister) of Ontario, the largest province of Canada with a GDP of roughly C$900.8 billion (US $643.54bn) in 2017 terms, also had to face a similar outcry when the provincial government announced on April 17 this year, the purchase of a Canada made, ten years old, 2016 model, pre-owned Bombardier Challenger 650 jet for Premier Doug Ford’s “extensive travel(s)”. The jet, bought for C$28.9 million, was to facilitate the Premier’s travel within Ontario and the United States, the announcement said.

Announcing the purchase, a spokesperson for the Ontario government then said that the plane would be used solely to conduct “government business”, and not for any personal trip.

Premier Ford argued then that the province needed the plane because Ontario is vast, and he needed something more secure to travel to the United States to push back against President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Compared to what happened in Pakistan, when the premier of Canada’s Ontario faced backlash over the purchase of a plane, he reversed his decision

While defending the purchase, Mr Ford’s office also cited that the plane was necessary for “more certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel,” citing the premier’s trips across the province as well as to meetings with fellow premiers and the prime minister.

The purchase resulted in an uproar. Critics quickly derided it as the “gravy plane” — a play on Ford’s boasts in the past that he was elected to “stop the gravy train” of government spending.

All guns targeted Premier Doug Ford for the purchase. Ontario Opposition Leader Marit Stiles, of the New Democratic Party (NDP), called the jet a “gravy plane” in a social media post, adding that Ford should be “flying economy like the rest of us.”

Premier Doug Ford faced an outcry when the provincial government announced the purchase of a Canada-made, ten-year-old, pre-owned jet for C$28.9 million

“I think it’s outrageous that the premier would be considering spending 30 million [Canadian] dollars on a luxury private plane at a time like this — when Ontarians are struggling with the price of rent, the price of food,” Stiles said at an unrelated news conference then.

The NDP, in its statement, also cited a 2019 Toronto Star story, in which Ford had said that he was “the only premier in history” who would prefer to drive around the province than spend taxpayer dollars flying.

Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser strongly condemned the Ford government’s purchase of the pre-owned Bombardier Challenger 650 private jet, calling it completely “out of touch”.

Groups outside of the opposition benches were also quick to denounce the provincial government’s purchase. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) demanded in a statement that Ford reverse plans to spend taxpayer dollars on a private jet. “Instead of taking commercial flights like many premiers in this country do, Ford would rather cosplay the life of the rich and famous on taxpayers’ dime,” said Noah Jarvis, CTF Ontario director.

“Ordinary taxpayers are struggling to make ends meet, and (Ontario premier) Ford is making them pay for a personal jet so that he doesn’t have to wait in line at the airport like everyone else.”

And with public pressure piling on the purchases, both in Pakistan and in Canada, the outcomes of the two were starkly opposite to each other.

Here in Toronto, the outcry forced Premier Ford to change his decision. He had to take a U-turn.

Within a few days of the announcement of the jet purchase, Mr Ford gave in, conceding that he had heard the public’s concerns. “Despite the best of intentions, I have heard and agree that now is not the right time for the expense of a government plane. The province is working with Bombardier and other partners to sell the plane as quickly as possible,” he said.

Speaking at an unrelated announcement in Ottawa, he then added, “I’m the premier that listens to the people, and if they don’t like something, I’m not too shy to change my mind”.

Within days, the plane was sold back to Bombardier at the purchase price of C$28.9 million. But Premier Ford is not out of the woods. The purchase, and the expenses involved in the process, cost the provincial exchequer an additional amount of around C$200,000. He will have to answer that too.

Premier Doug Ford is known as a go-getter. He has won three consecutive elections in the province for the provincial Conservatives. Yet, pundits now believe his party may have to pay a political price for the decision to buy a private jet for the premier of Canada’s largest province, which boasts the highest GDP among the provinces of the country.

Real democracy is at work — at least here in Canada.

The writer is a Canadian-based analyst.

X: @rhusainsyed

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, September 28th, 2026

The Olympic champion, competing under heavy skies and on a slick runway, had a difficult start, managing 76.69m on his first attempt before a foul on his second.

He improved drastically on his third with 80.29m to climb to fourth, but could not build on it — three consecutive fouls followed, ending his challenge.

Pathirage, the World No. 1 and heavy favourite, lived up to his billing.

Third after three throws with 83.56m, he unleashed 88.33m on his fourth attempt, beating his chest in delight as he moved ahead of both Indians. He improved again in the sixth with 88.55m.

The Sri Lankan’s dominance is all the more remarkable given the disruption to his season. Just two weeks before the Games, all five of his javelins — the same implements he used for every 90m throw this year — were found shattered after a flight from Budapest, where he had won the World Athletics Ultimate Championship.

India’s Yashvir Singh took silver with a personal-best 85.72m on his final attempt, while compatriot Rohit Yadav claimed bronze with 84.35m. Yashvir had set the tone early with 83.56m on his first throw, before Rohit briefly moved ahead with 84.35m in the third round.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Yasir finished ninth, his best effort 73.50m.

The result caps a difficult season for Arshad, who has struggled to rediscover the form that saw him win Olympic gold in Paris with a record 92.97m throw.

He finished ninth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and fifth at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest.

Pathirage, by contrast, has been unstoppable. The 23-year-old has won 11 of his 12 competitions this year, thrown beyond 90m three times, and claimed the Diamond League Final, Commonwealth gold and the World Ultimate title.

On Sunday, a day after he had announced putting off the opposition’s planned protest march to Islamabad, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi visited Dera Ismail Khan to check in with those wounded in a deadly gun-and-bomb attack in Darazinda over the weekend.

The attack targeted a police and customs check-post and killed at least 12; militants then fired on an ambulance carrying the victims, killing two rescue workers. Accompanied by his predecessor, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, he asked for his province’s input to be incorporated into the national counterterrorism policy, so it could “reflect the ground realities”. “Peace cannot be established without taking the people of KP into confidence,” he said. Mr Afridi complained about the non-provision of modern weapons and equipment from the centre despite payments being made.

Unfortunately, he could not steer clear of politics and accused “some elements” in the federal government of polarising the country, while daring them to make good on the threat to impose governor’s rule in KP. Federal ministers responded on Monday, slamming the PTI government for “failing to provide leadership, resources or power” to the security forces. “If Pakistan is burning in the fire of terrorism, it is because of KP’s incompetent leadership,” the minister of state for interior remarked, sitting alongside the information minister. The state minister also accused the provincial government of having “a soft attitude” on Afghanistan. The information minister, meanwhile, branded the PTI the ‘B team’ of the banned TTP. “You will now have to decide if you are with Pakistan or with Afghanistan,” he added.

This is extremely poor leadership and statesmanship from top-level leaders at a time when national unity is needed. Pakistan’s fight against violent extremism long predates the current crisis, and it is deeply unfortunate and disingenuous to cast it as a problem created solely by a single political party. That said, the KP government must demonstrate far greater responsibility in meeting the governance challenges it faces. The chief minister cannot lead a political movement at a time when citizens are dying on an almost daily basis. There is an urgent need to tone down the rhetoric and tackle terrorism as a collective challenge for both the affected provinces and the federation.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

The PTI has announced a nationwide protest, including a march to Islamabad, to demand the release of former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan. The protest was originally scheduled for Sept 27 but was postponed to Oct 4 last week.

The leadership of the TTAP, which includes the PTI, was not fully on board with the decision to delay the march. However, once the decision was taken, they agreed to abide by it, but made it clear that they would not own the decision.

A statement released by TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Ahmad Yousafzai appeared to be implying the same.

“The PTI is part of the opposition alliance and and the call for the Sept 27 protest unanimously declared as a joint call of the opposition alliance in a TTAP meeting,” he recounted.

In that meeting, he continued, a strategy was also finalised regarding protests in Sindh and Balochistan while detailed consultations on it were also been held with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and the PTI leadership.

“The KP CM clearly stated that the decision regarding Sept 27 was of the PTI’s political committee. Before the decision’s announcement, [PTI Chairperson] Barrister Gohar Ali Khan visited the opposition leaders and it was clearly communicated to him that every single day after Sept 27 is crucial for us and this time will not come again,” Yousafzai’s statement said.

Noting that the PTI had now postponed its protest to Oct 4, he added that the TTAP would “fully participate” in it.

“In the current situation, this time is extremely important for Pakistan’s democratic future, the supremacy of the Constitution and the protection of political rights,” he stated.

While announcing the new date for the march, the KP CM had said the PTI’s allies had been informed of the party’s decision.

A PTI leader had told Dawn at the time that CM Afridi contacted TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is also the opposition leader in the National Assembly, to inform him about the postponement. The opposition leader, however, said that when the date for the march was not discussed with him, why should he give his input on the postponement, the source had revealed.

Yousufzai had confirmed to Dawn that the KP CM contacted Achakzai and said that upon being informed that the march would be postponed due to some administrative and logistic issues, both Achakzai and Opposition Leader in the Senate Raja Nasir Abbas had suggested that the party should stick to their original plan, but later relented, saying that they would respect the party’s decision, even though they did not endorse it.

“As the PTI is our partner, we will support them for the Oct 4 march,” he had said.

Insecurity destroys the very conditions on which economic development depe­nds, while development strengthens the foundations of security. Our crisis makes this nexus impossible to ignore. For decades, discussions on investment, production, growth, and development have largely focused on economic policies while underestimating the non-economic environment in which they operate. Yet, security of life and property, political stability, rule of law, judicial independence, federal-provincial coordination, accountability, and regional peace directly affect economic outcomes. Unless these improve, returns from economic reforms will remain below potential.

Increasing militancy and Pakistan’s top position on the Global Terrorism Index 2026 are damaging lives and economic prospects. The recent attack on a police compound in Kohat, in which 37 people, including military personnel, were killed, received international coverage. Foreign business people and executives reportedly cancelled plan­ned visits, while travel advisories issued by sever­al governments can discourage their nationals from visiting Pakistan. In 2025, TTP attacks in KP and BLA strikes in Balochistan caused hundreds of ca­­sualties among security personnel. The past decade’s trend shows that terrorism is no longer episodic. It is a structural constraint on investment, trade, tourism, development and employment.

The origins of the TTP challenge go back several decades. Pakistan’s decision in the 1980s to align with the US in opposing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan had consequences beyond the immediate strategic goal. The proliferation of arms and drugs, sectarian violence, growth of militant groups and the spread of extremist ideologies created a social and institutional environment that facilitated terrorism in Pakistan.

After the Soviets left Afghanistan, Pakistan became involved in efforts to shape a political settlement among Afghan factions. The failure of power-sharing arrangements and the ensuing civil war led to the emergence of the Taliban, who captured Kabul in 1996. Pakistan supported their regime. But 9/11 fundamentally altered the situation. Pakistan joined the global campaign against terrorism, itself becoming a major target. When the US decided to leave Afghanistan, Pakistan played an important role in the Doha process. The Ashraf Ghani government’s collapse in 2021 and the Taliban’s return led to expectations that cross-border terrorism would decline. Instead, the TTP, now equipped with modern weapons left behind by Nato forces, intensified their attacks.

The challenge is to build security through development, and development through security.

Diplomatic efforts involving China, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have not produced a durable solution. Insecurity along the western frontier has disrupted bilateral trade, imposing costs on manufacturers, traders and transport operators, especially in KP and Balochistan. Security and commerce are now directly linked. Balochistan poses a different but equally serious challenge. It has seen a sharp escalation in asymmetric warfare and insurgency. Highways, railways, bridges, gas pipelines, electricity transmission lines, and other infrastructure have been targeted. Mine workers, labourers from other provinces and government officials have been attacked or abducted. In places, the state’s administrative presence and writ have been weakened.

The economic consequences are immediate. Chi­­nese nationals and companies in Pakistan need extensive security. Attacks on Chinese citizens in Karachi, Dasu and elsewhere have led to concerns in Beijing and slowed some CPEC-related activities. Gwadar’s industrial potential remains largely unrealised, partly because Chinese companies are reluctant to deploy personnel in insecure conditions. An industrial zone won’t flourish when investors can’t operate confidently.

Security operations alone can’t resolve Balochistan’s problem. Kinetic action is necessary against militants but must be accompanied by development. Balochistan suffers from serious deficits in education, health, clean water, infrastructure, employment and private investment. When economic opportunities are few, grievances become a source of recruitment for insurgent groups. So the province needs not just security spending but also a development strategy to create jobs, boost local institutions, and ensure communities see tangible benefits from Balochistan’s natural resources and strategic location. Regional instability adds to the problem. Disruption of trade with Iran and closure or restriction of border crossings such as Chaman have hurt exporters and communities that rely on cross-border commerce. Clearly, peace is not just a diplomatic aim; it is an economic asset.

Pakistan must use its diplomatic capital to promote regional economic integration. Better ties with Afghanistan, structured dialogue with India, stable relations with Iran, and expanded links with Central Asian states can enlarge its economic space. Afghanistan, Iran, north India, and Central Asia can be important markets for Pakistani goods and services. Gwadar could become a transshipment and logistics gateway for landlocked Central Asian economies, generating transit revenues and creating opportunities for Pakistani exporters. Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan offer markets that Pakistan has so far penetrated modestly. Regional connectivity can revive projects such as the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, TAPI, and CASA, subject to their political, financial, commercial, and security feasibility.

Greater regional trade will create demand for transport, logistics, warehousing, banking, insurance, IT and manufacturing. It will create jobs and give border communities greater economic sta­­ke in stability. None of this means that economic reforms should wait for peace. Quite the contrary. Fiscal reform, energy sector restructuring, taxation, deregulation, privatisation, export diversification, human capital development and institutional reform must continue uninterrupted. But they must be supported by steps that reduce the security premium imposed on economic activity.

Security and development are two sides of the same national strategy. Insecurity raises transaction costs, discourages investment, destroys infrastructure, disrupts trade, deters foreign personnel and limits employment. Lack of economic opportunity, weak institutions and regional isolation can deepen the conditions in which insecurity flourishes. The goal should be to create an economy in which security, development and opportunity reinforce each other. Military capability can suppress threats. But only sustained economic development, effective institutions, political stability and regional peace can remove many of the conditions that allow those threats to regenerate.

Our choice is not between security and development. The challenge is to build security through development, and development through security. Until that nexus becomes the organising principle of policy, economic reforms will operate below their potential and Pakistan will remain vulnerable to cycles of instability, low investment and weak growth.

The writer is a former State Bank governor.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

During a busy day in the UK capital, the premier held a series of meetings with top officials of Barclays, JP Morgan, Citi, BlackRock and Rothschild & Co.

Earlier in the day, he also became the first Pakistani prime minister to open trading at the London Stock Exchange, according to his office.

In a statement, the PM’s Office (PMO) said the premier’s engagements with the global firms “underscored growing international financial sector interest in Pakistan’s economic reform trajectory and improving investment climate”.

In his meeting with a high-level JP Morgan delegation led by its co-CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa Matthieu Wiltz, PM Shehbaz invited the firm to expand its footprint in Pakistan.

He discussed deepening the partnership across capital markets, trade finance and investment banking.

According to PMO, the JP Morgan delegation “reaffirmed its interest in sovereign debt capital markets and corporate banking opportunities”.

Meeting with Mohammad Kamal Syed, head of Private Bank and Wealth Management UK at Barclays, PM Shehbaz briefed him on the government’s macroeconomic stabilisation measures and encouraged Barclays to explore opportunities in the country’s financial sector.

The prime minister welcomed the bank’s “interest in Pakistan”, PMO said.

PM Shehbaz also met with Rothschild & Co, represented by Chair of Geostrategic Advisory Lord Mark Sedwill and Head of UK Investment Banking Majid Ishaq.

“Discussions centred on Pakistan’s geo-economic priorities and potential advisory collaboration on capital markets and investment strategy,” PMO said.

The premier also met a group of senior officials of Citi, led by Chief Client Officer David Livingstone, encouraging the bank to expand its “corporate and institutional banking services” in Pakistan.

The prime minister commended Citi’s long-standing presence in Pakistan, the statement added.

In his meeting with a BlackRock delegation, PM Shehbaz “invited increased allocations to Pakistani equities and fixed income within the firm’s frontier markets strategy, with both sides emphasising the importance of sustained policy consistency in building investor confidence”.

The delegation comprised the co-heads of Emerging Markets and Frontiers, Gordon Fraser and Sam Vecht, along with Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst Emily Fletcher.

“Across all engagements, the visiting executives expressed confidence in Pakistan’s economic reform momentum and reaffirmed their institutions’ commitment to deepening engagement with the country’s financial sector,” PMO said.

It asserted that the meetings reflected the “growing traction of Pakistan’s economic reform programme among the world’s leading financial institutions”.

The engagements also “mark a significant step in the government’s broader effort to strengthen international investor confidence and attract sustained capital flows into the country”, the statement highlighted.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Adviser to PM on Privatisation Muhammad Ali, who also heads the Privatisation Commission, were present in the meetings as well.

London Stock Exchange ceremony

In an earlier statement, PMO noted that PM Shehbaz became the first prime minister from Pakistan to open the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) trading session.

He also formally inaugurated Pakistan’s landmark $3 billion dual-tranche sovereign Eurobond, raised earlier this month.

LSE’s market opening ceremony is held at its headquarters in Paternoster Square and formally marks the start of the trading day in London.

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) Chief Executive Officer David Schwimmer and senior officials of the group welcomed the prime minister on his arrival.

Aurangzeb, the LSEG CEO, the Privatisation Commission head, Pakistan High Commissioner Tipu Usman, members of the Pakistani delegation and relevant British authorities attended the ceremony.

“Pakistan in recent years has worked very hard to strengthen its economy,” PM Shehbaz said while addressing the audience, terming the country’s improved macroeconomic indicators as “promising” for the future.

He went on to praise Aurangzeb and his team for arranging the Eurobond sale, which he said explained “our hard work” in volumes.

The premier claimed that if the Middle East conflict had not erupted, Pakistan would have “taken off like other emerging economies”.

He also highlighted Islamabad’s role as a mediator in the war between the United States and Iran.

“Now is the time, because of this Gulf crisis, new lessons have to be learnt,” PM Shehbaz stressed.

“Investors are now trying to evaluate and assess safer markets and Pakistan is a market where we can easily attract foreign investments, which are highly profitable, mutually beneficial, safe and secure,” he noted.

The prime minister expressed “his happiness on his participation to open London Stock Exchange session” and termed it a step towards “rebuilding their wonderful connection” with LSE, PMO said.

Addressing the LSEG CEO, the premier said that they would like to seek his guidance and advice on how to further engage international financial markets to play a role in Pakistan, not just in terms of sovereign debt but through very attractive investments.

Finance Minister Aurangzeb meets SCB CEO in London

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb met Standard Chartered Bank’s CEO Bill Winters in London on Tuesday, according to a statement by the finance ministry.

Aurangzeb “appreciated SCB’s continued support to Pakistan and its cooperation in various financing and capital market transactions”, the statement said.

The ministry said that the two discussed Pakistan’s ongoing structural reforms and the latest macroeconomic developments.

They also discussed future areas of collaboration, including “tokenisation, international Sukuk and other financing opportunities”, according to the statement.

“SCB’s strong investor network across Europe, the Middle East and Asia can play an important role in facilitating continued investor outreach and enhancing market visibility for Pakistan,” the ministry said.

The discussions also included potential capital market transactions to support the privatisation programme of the government, covering opportunities on both the buy-side and sell-side, it added.

Advisor to the Prime Minister on Privatisation Muhammad Ali and Advisor to the Finance Minister Omer Khan were also present in the meeting.

The government on Monday decreased the price of petrol by Rs2.27 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs3.56 per litre.

Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs389.03 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs404.97 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.

According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices are applicable for Sept 29.

The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

Meanwhile, the government has reintroduced a raft of austerity measures in response to rising fuel prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Under these measures, markets are required to close by 9pm and fuel allocations for official vehicles has been cut by 50 per cent for three months.

On September 13, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced a “relief scheme” for users of motorcycles, autos and vehicles of up to 800cc to “alleviate the burden” of rising global oil prices.

Previously, on July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

Prior to this, the government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.

The Honour 25 — a Palau-flagged oil tanker — had 19 crew members on board, including 10 Pakistanis.

“The naval and ground units of the Puntland Maritime Police Force conducted a planned operation in the Dharin-Bar area of Bandar Beyla district,” the maritime police said in its initial statement.

In another late-night statement, it announced that the operation had concluded and the recovered vessel “is now safe and under the Puntland government’s control”.

During the operation, it said, 21 suspected pirates were apprehended, while operations to locate the remaining members continue.

“Before the operation begun, the pirates on board the ship killed five of the crew. Among those killed were three from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India,” it said.

Four crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indian — were also injured, the statement added.

Reuters earlier reported, citing Puntland’s state television, that the detained pirates would be brought to court.

No further details of the operation were available from any of the official sources.

Dawn contacted the Foreign Office (FO) for further information, but there was no immediate response.

Reports of casualties

Meanwhile, Ayesha Ameen, the wife of a fitter on the ship, told Dawn between sobs that there were reports of casualties among Pakistanis on the ship.

She said that they were not able to confirm the names of the deceased yet, but her husband, Ameen Bin Shams, was reportedly among the injured.

“We don’t know how bad the injuries are,” she said.

“We are trying to establish contact with the ship’s captain on the numbers that we have. But our calls are not being answered.

“As far as we know, the bodies are still on the ship, as are the injured. There is no one to tell us if they will be moved. We are going mad here,” she added.

Initial reports attributed to the crew suggest that there have been five deaths and four people have been injured.

Apart from Pakistanis, the vessel’s crew also included seven Indonesians, an Indian and a Sri Lankan.

After its hijacking in April, months had passed with no progress either in negotiations or the payment of the ransom, said to be around $3 million, for the recovery of the hostages.

The hostages were said to be victims of an “ownership crisis”, as it was not clearly established who owned the ship — the man previously thought to be an owner was later revealed to be more likely a middleman who hired them.

Since its hijack, the crew had made several emotional videos and audio appeals, reporting that they had run out of clean water, food and medicine. Meanwhile, their families launched an international appeal, calling on foreign governments, the United Nations (UN) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to take coordinated action to help secure the release of their loved ones.

For its part, the FO maintained that it remained “actively engaged” to secure the release of the sailors.

Last month, in a meeting with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) head, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar pressed for “urgent and effective institutional intervention” for the return of the Pakistani sailors.

The pirates had also contacted humanitarian Ansar Burney, who had also tried to help in resolving the matter.

Ansar Burney — a former human rights minister — is the chairman of the Ansar Burney Trust, a non-profit human rights organisation working in all areas of human and civil rights worldwide. He has previously participated in efforts to free Pakistanis captured by Somali pirates.

After Tuesday’s operation, the Ansar Burney Trust said in a statement that the IMO had contacted it and ensured of cooperation for the return of the injured crew and bodies to their home countries.

It said it was in contact with relevant authorities, international institutions and the vessel’s crew and was making continued efforts for the return of the injured and the bodies.

Somali piracy has seen a resurgence, with at least 15 attacks since April, the highest since 2013.

Additional input from AFP and Reuters

The report by WAM was the first UAE confirmation of Netanyahu’s visit.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said on Monday that Netanyahu visited at the invitation of the UAE president. It said the visit “focused on strengthening relations between the two countries and on regional challenges”.

Three senior Israeli officials said the meeting on Sunday lasted six hours and focused on Iran.

Earlier this year, the UAE denied that Sheikh Mohamed met with Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister’s office said in May that Netanyahu had “secretly visited” the Gulf country and met with the president.

A source familiar with the meeting said at the time that Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohamed met in Al-Ain, an oasis city in Abu Dhabi along the country’s border with Oman, on March 26.

The visit came weeks after a bombshell Israeli media report that the Emirati president had warned Netanyahu ahead of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which the Israeli premier did not pass on to the security services. Netanyahu has denied the story.

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu flew to the UAE on Sunday to ask Sheikh Mohamed to deny having given him that warning in 2023.

Earlier on Monday, before Netanyahu’s office formally confirmed the destination, Israel’s domestic security service filed a complaint against a TV channel that reported the visit.

“This evening the Shin Bet filed a complaint with the Chief Military Censor, demanding that Channel 12 be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law following a severe censorship violation,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office, which oversees the security agency.

The publication of his visit “endangered the lives of the prime minister and his wife, as well as the delegation, which included the head of the Mossad” spy agency and other top security officials, the PM’s office said in its statement.

The visit was made public when the premier’s plane was still outside Israeli airspace, it noted.

Mossad, which also operates under the Prime Minister’s office, issued a similar condemnation, according to the statement.

Since coming under attack during the Iran war, the UAE has strengthened its relationships with the United States and Israel, with which it opened ties as a result of the 2020 Abraham Accords. The relationship with Israel gives the UAE a lever for regional influence and a unique channel to Washington.

The visiting delegation also appreciated Pakistan’s continued contribution to regional peace and stability, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.

The delegation, led by its co-chairs, Shamila N. Chaudhary and Dr Colin F Jackson, met CDF Munir at General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

“The delegation is undertaking a review of the United States’ 20-year engagement in Afghanistan,” the statement said, adding that its discussion with the military chief covered topics including “Pakistan’s support, the regional security environment and developments in Afghanistan, with focus on perspectives relevant to the commission’s work”.

For his part, CDF Munir shared Pakistan’s perspective on the security dynamics that shaped the conflict, also highlighting the challenges the country faced during the prolonged US engagement in Afghanistan.

The ISPR statement added that he highlighted the need to incorporate a regional perspective, as well as Pakistan’s experience in assessing the strategic, diplomatic and operational dimensions of the conflict.

The US Congress established the Afghanistan War Commission in 2021 as an independent body to review US decisions pertaining to the war in Afghanistan from June 2001 to August 2021, according to the commission’s website.

US forces had withdrawn from Afghanistan in Aug 2021, ending a 20-year war. The withdrawal was completed a minute before midnight on Aug 30, 2021.

The US had launched a military intervention in Afghanistan following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks, ushering in two decades of conflict in which civilians suffered widespread violence and abuses.

Some 800,000 US servicemembers served in Afghanistan during this period. During the war, 2,238 US servicemembers died and nearly 21,000 were wounded.

Meanwhile, over 40,000 civilians were killed and 77,000 wounded in attacks by Taliban insurgents, the Islamic State (IS) group, and in operations by the armed forces of the Afghan Republic or the international coalition led by the US, according to the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Independent estimates put the total number of Afghan security forces and civilians killed at more than 100,000.

A detailed report in The Wall Street Journal in 2022 showed that since Sept 11, 2001, US military outsourcing had pushed up Pentagon spending to $14 trillion. One-third to half of that sum went to contractors.

ISLAMABAD: As question marks linger over the continuous breach of structural benchmarks regarding the sovereign wealth fund (SWF) law, the federal government on Monday notified new procurement rules two days ahead of the deadline, on the first day of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for disbursement of $1.2 billion.

Sources told Dawn that the IMF staff mission led by Iva Petrova held a series of discussions with officials from the finance ministry, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Establishment Division, and the finance secretaries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

The IMF team has been in Pakistan since September 23. It spent the initial days in Karachi for engagements with the State Bank of Pakistan and other stakeholders. The review talks usually begin with a customary call on the fina­nce minister, but he is currently abroad as part of the PM’s delegation to the UN General Assembly.

The Sovereign Wealth Fund law is part of the discussions with the visiting IMF team. Authorities are in breach of an end-March 2026 structural benchmark on amendments to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Act to adopt governance mechanisms and safeguards for seven state-owned enterprises, involving an asset portfolio of about $8 billion.

Most of them are blue-chip entities listed on the stock exchange but remain outside normal reporting requirements. They include OGDCL, PPL, Mari Petr­oleum, National Bank of Pakistan, Govt Holdings, Pakistan Development Fund, and the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower project. The amendments are pending parliamentary approval.

New procurement rules

Against this backdrop, the government notified the Public Procurement Rules 2026 to promote greater transparency and competition in public procurement while keeping certain exemptions for direct contracting with SOEs and limiting the bidding to national firms. The IMF had certain reservations over the preferential treatment of SOEs for direct contracting.

Rule 32 of the new rules provide that a procuring agency may engage through EPADS (E-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System, a digital system developed and enforced by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) to manage and administer the process of procurement in direct contracting with state-owned entities for the procurement of such works and services, including consultancy ser­vices, which are time-sensitive, scattered, remotely located and in the public interest or in case of urgency and provided they do not sub-let those contracts.

The authorities would also have the powers in specific cases to limit bidding only to national bidders or certain categories of national bidders or prohibit participation of bidders of some nationalities or allow preference to domestic bidders for certain projects, and goods manufactured, mined, extracted and grown in the country.

The Public Proc­urement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) said the new Public Proc­urement Rules 2026 repealed the Public Procurement Rules 2004. Made under Section 26 of the PPRA Ordinance 2002, the new rules have come into immediate effect, with procurement cases initiated prior to the commencement of the new rules continuing under the 2004 framework.

The new rules make the use of EPADS mandatory for public procurement and disposal by federal procuring agencies, provide for the establishment of dedicated procurement cells, and introduce mechanisms to discourage conflicts of interest through third-party validation, evaluation, and pre-shipment inspection for large procurements.

The new rules further strengthen the enforcement mechanism through the provision of blacklisting and cross-debarment, independent grievance red­ressal committees with an appellate mechanism at PPRA to clearly identify material deviations and mis-procurement, including deliberate procurement outside EPADS, failure to constitute prescribed committees, tailor-made specifications, violation of advertisement and response-time requirements, and failure to follow prescribed evaluation criteria.

The rules allow other efficient methods of procurement such as gallop tendering and alternative procurement methods, including shopping and negotiated tendering, subject to specified conditions. Efficiency measures have been embedded in the framework, reducing response times, shortening standstill periods, and streamlining tender processing cycles to enable faster contract awards.

The rules also emphasise sustainable procurement, encouraging inclusiveness of SMEs and marginalised groups, and aligning procurement practices with environmental policy.

PPRA Managing Director Hasnat Ahmed Qureshi said new rules introduce a range of measures to strengthen oversight throughout the procurement cycle, from procurement planning and bidding to contract management, performance evaluation and closure.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

This means connecting what is seen from space with what scientists find on the ground. When satellite images show a lake expanding rapidly, it should lead to closer field checks involving Suparco, Wapda, universities, meteorological experts and the provincial disaster authorities. Their findings should be brought together in one system showing which lakes are growing, which natural barriers may be weakening, and which villages, roads or other infrastructure lie downstream. Experts have warned that agencies often work separately and that important information about glaciers and local conditions remains missing. With more than 13,000 glaciers, Pakistan cannot study each one in equal detail. Nor does it need to. Satellite monitoring can help identify the lakes that deserve the closest attention, allowing limited scientific resources to be used where the danger is greatest. The jump from 40 to 105 unfrozen lakes should, therefore, be seen as more than another warning about climate change. It is also a test of whether Pakistan can turn the information it already has into practical knowledge — and use that knowledge before a dangerous lake becomes a disaster.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

The international community’s disgust with Israel’s anti-Palestinian pogroms and its regional warmongering was on display last week when Mr Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly. As he took the rostrum, most of the delegations headed for the exit. Those who left, including Pakistan, mostly represented the Global South, although some European states also joined the boycott. Expectedly, the US, Israel’s European friends, as well as India and the UAE, among a few others, stayed to watch Mr Netanyahu’s macabre act. The global majority — common citizens as well as governments — have had enough of Zionist butchery and land theft. The need is to transform this solidarity into action. Israeli leaders have announced what they intend to do in the West Bank; it will be an unforgivable crime if the comity of nations allows Tel Aviv to repeat the genocidal violence it carried out in Gaza in the West Bank. Moreover, the world must stand firm that Israeli occupation of Arab land will never be accepted. Unless Israel stops this reprehensible behaviour, the global majority must end all interaction with it.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

It is the latest twist in the long-running contentious debate about rule ever since New Delhi revoked held Kashmir’s limited autonomy in 2019.

Omar Abdullah, who heads the occupied state’s government, introduced the resolution, saying that statehood was “our right”.

Members of the Bha­ratiya Janata Party staged a walkout before the vote, with many of them calling the resolution “unconstitutional” and “anti-nati­onal”.

It calls upon the government in New Delhi to ensure “the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir”.

The text also referred to resolutions demanding autonomy, passed in 2000 and 2024.

All three are not constitutionally binding.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

During the same period, the head of Mossad, Israel’s main intelligence agency, made two trips to the country to apparently coordinate military operations. And last week, while 77 nations boycotted the Israeli prime minister’s speech at the UN General Assembly, the UAE delegation remained seated — a clear show of solidarity with the Zionist state.

Since joining the Abraham Accords in 2020, the UAE has not only established diplomatic relations with Israel but has gone much further, elevating the relationship into a de facto alliance — even as the Israeli state was carrying out a genocidal war in Gaza. That relationship deepened as the US, along with Israel, imposed an unprovoked war on Iran.

The extraordinary relationship between the two countries marks a developing unholy alliance in a rapidly changing regional order, as America’s war on Iran drags on. The UAE has reportedly carried out its own strikes on Iran and has also borne the brunt of retaliatory strikes — with devastating effect — despite the deployment of the Iron Dome air defence system, run by Israeli military personnel.

Its close military cooperation with Israel has drawn the UAE directly into the war on Iran.

It is the first time this highly advanced system has been deployed outside Israel and the US, signalling the critical role of the Emirates in a potential Israeli-led regional defence alliance. It is also the first Arab-Israeli relationship to acquire real military and industrial substance. And this Israel-UAE nexus goes beyond the ongoing Iran war: the UAE appears to be a critical part of Israel’s plan to build what Netanyahu calls the “hexagon of alliances”.

That idea was pitched by the Israeli prime minister early this year. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Feb 22, 2026, days before the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Netanyahu presented his vision of creating “a hexagon of alliances around or within the Middle East” — a bloc against what he described as the “radical Shia and emerging Sunni axis”. He named four members — Israel, India, Greece and Cyprus — and left the remaining slots (Arab, African and Asian states) unnamed. But it is widely assumed that the Emirates is one of the six, given its close diplomatic and defence ties with Israel.

Netanyahu also pointed to intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism cooperation with India as the core of the project. Modi’s February visit produced a Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries, which have long cooperated on defence and intelligence. Israel is one of India’s largest arms suppliers. The UAE, too, has built close defence ties with New Delhi. All three are part of the four-nation I2U2 grouping, alongside the US, and of IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. This web of alliances, bound together by bilateral defence relationships, is shaping the emerging security landscape in West Asia and beyond.

Although the Israeli-proposed hexagon alliance has not yet taken formal shape, it is widely seen as a potential counter to the Makkah alliance — which Israel portrays, wrongly, as a ‘Sunni alliance’. Netanyahu has repeatedly called Turkiye a greater threat than Iran and a major challenge to his ‘Greater Israel’ ambition. Against this background, the growing Israel-UAE diplomatic and defence cooperation is alarming.

Over the past few years, the UAE has drifted away from its Gulf allies on a range of regional and foreign policy issues, above all by widening its differences with Saudi Arabia. The Emirates is accused of arming and financing a separatist group in strife-torn southern Yemen, bringing the UAE into conflict with Riyadh. It is also widely believed to be arming and funding an armed group involved in Sudan’s civil war, one accused of mass atrocities. And it backs Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia recognised only by Israel — while every other Arab state supports a united Somalia.

A few months ago, at the height of the Iran war, the Emirates pulled out of Opec, the Saudi-led oil cartel, severely damaging the organisation. Its close military cooperation with Israel has drawn the Emirates directly into the war on Iran, endangering its own security in the process. Any participation in an Israeli-proposed alliance could prove extremely destabilising for the region.

Pakistan’s own relations with the Emirates have hit a low over the past few years. Early this year, the UAE withdrew a $3 billion deposit from the State Bank of Pakistan, and once-close ties have become significantly strained. With a large Pakistani workforce in the Emirates, the shift has put Pakistan in a very difficult position, which requires a delicate balancing act.

The widening regional divide — in the middle of the Iran war, Israel’s continuing genocide in Gaza and its military actions in Lebanon — is extremely troubling. Israel’s idea of a ‘hexagon alliance’ that also includes India is dangerous for Pakistan’s security, particularly as Israel and India are already tied in a strategic relationship.

It is certainly not good news for the Middle East and the wider region, which is being rocked by America’s unending war on Iran. The situation has become much more complicated with the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Last week, the military chiefs of the three allied countries met to discuss the deteriorating situation, and there is talk that Article 5 of the alliance — under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all — could be activated. Any such move could draw Pakistan directly into the conflict. With a resolution to the Iran war still far off, an expansion of the conflict could render the situation far more explosive. Against this backdrop, the unholy alliance between Israel and the UAE could further destabilise the region, with far-reaching implications.

The writer is an author and journalist.

zhussain100@yahoo.com

X: @hidhussain

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2026

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday highlighted the need to incorporate a regional perspective, as well as Pakistan’s experience in assessing the strategic, diplomatic and operational dimensions of the US’ 20-year engagement in Afghanistan.

The field marshal made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of America’s Afghanistan War Commission at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

The delegation, led by its co-chairs, Shamila N. Cha­u­dhary and Dr Colin F Jac­kson, acknowledged Pa­k­istan’s “longstanding role and sacrifices during the conflict in Afghan­istan”, according to the military’s media affairs wing.

The visiting delegation also appreciated Islama­bad’s continued contribution to regional peace and stability, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.

“The delegation is undertaking a review of the Uni­ted States’ 20-year engagement in Afghanistan,” the statement said, adding that its discussion with the military chief covered topics including “Pakistan’s support, the regional security environment and developments in Afghanistan, with focus on perspectives relevant to the commission’s work”. For his part, CDF Munir shared Pakistan’s perspective on the security dynamics that shaped the conflict, highlighting the challenges the country faced during the war.

The ISPR statement add­ed that he highlighted the need to incorporate a regi­onal perspective, as well as Pakistan’s experience in assessing the strategic, diplomatic and operational dimensions of the conflict.

The US Congress established the Afghanistan War Commission in 2021 as an independent body to review US decisions pertaining to the war in Afghanistan from June 2001 to Aug 2021.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

“This evening the Shin Bet filed a complaint with the Chief Military Censor, demanding that Channel 12 be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law following a severe censorship violation,” read a statement from Netanyahu’s office, which oversees the security agency.

On Sunday, Channel 12 and other Israeli media outlets reported that Netanyahu had visited the Gulf country to meet with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Neither country has confirmed Netanyahu visited the UAE, with Monday’s statement the first acknowledgement of any kind by Israel.

The visit came weeks after a bombshell Israeli media report that the Emirati president had warned Netanyahu ahead of Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which the Israeli premier did not pass on to the security services.

Netanyahu has denied the story.

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu flew to the UAE on Sunday to ask Sheikh Mohamed to deny having given him that warning in 2023.

The publication of his visit “endangered the lives of the prime minister and his wife, as well as the delegation, which included the head of the Mossad” spy agency and other top security officials, the PM’s office said in its statement.

The visit was made public when the premier’s plane was still outside Israeli airspace, it noted.

Mossad, which also operates under the prime minister’s office, issued a similar condemnation, according to the statement.

Israel and the UAE formally established diplomatic relations in 2020 as part of the US-negotiated Abraham Accords.

Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the public interest petition filed by a citizen, Husnainul Abideen. Advocate Shahram Saqi represented the petitioner, saying the Ray-Ban Meta and similar camera-enabled smart glasses look like ordinary eyewear, but can secretly photograph, record and live-stream anyone within the wearer’s view.

He said these features make the device fundamentally different from a mobile phone and violate Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution, which protect people’s liberty, dignity and privacy.

Although Meta did not officially list Pakistan as a market, the counsel said, the glasses are openly sold online and in shops in Lahore at various places, including Hafeez Centre.

The counsel cited concerns raised by regulators in Ireland, Italy and Germany, and bans on smart glasses in courts in England and Wales and New York.

He asked the court to declare unrestricted use of such glasses incompatible with the Constitution.

He also sought directions to prohibit imports, review PTA approvals, bar the glasses in courts, airports and government offices, stop customs clearance of consignments and require the cybercrime agency to disclose related complaints.

After hearing the arguments, the chief justice issued notices to the respondents for submission of their replies by Oct 8.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026

Afridi, who was elected as the KP CM in October 2025, has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the federal government’s policies on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.

Earlier in the day, Kashmir affairs and frontier regions minister Amir Muqam held a press conference in Peshawar, where he slammed the PTI and Afridi for focusing on the party’s planned long march rather than the security challenges that KP was facing.

Later, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, during a press briefing in Islamabad, highlighted flaws in the KP government’s “leadership” and use of resources to fight terrorism.

This was followed by another press conference in Peshawar, where the prime minister’s coordinator to KP, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, and MNA Samar Haroon Bilour presented a white paper on the KP government’s “failure” to equip police with sophisticated weapons.

Meanwhile, addressing a meeting regarding law and order in Peshawar, the KP CM stressed that merely providing resources to the police would not solve the problem until there was a policy shift.

“We repeatedly stated that the state’s current policy was flawed. The blood of our Pakhtuns will flow again,” Afridi said, regretting that federal ministers “dismissed our repeated warnings as propaganda and lies”.

The chief minister highlighted that he had been consistently calling for a change to the “failed policy of 22 years”.

The PTI leader declared he would not back down from his stance over threats of imposition of governor’s rule or a state of emergency.

Afridi called for a new counterterrorism policy to be formulated that took all stakeholders into confidence, including the provincial government, administration and police.

He contended that if the new policy was implemented as proposed, peace could be restored in KP within 100 days — “yet no one is willing to listen”.

“Some people act as if they know it all and are unwilling to listen to the stakeholders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he said. “Where is the country being led? Is the blood of our people so cheap that it should be sacrificed for the sake of politics?”

CM Afridi also defended his government’s performance, recalling that it had diverted Rs35 billion from the development budget to the police force, doubling its allocation.

He added that the Special Branch was being stabilised and modern weaponry and essential gear were being provided to the police force.

The KP CM went on to accuse the federal government of adopting a “dual-standard policy”: “one for the favourites and another for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”, terming this unacceptable.

He again expressed concern over Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s comments that the other three provinces posed a threat rather than India, noting that she was contradicting the state’s stance that New Delhi had a role in sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan.

“Federal ministers label the residents of KP as terrorists and savages; they are forgiven because they are favourites … no action is taken against them,” the PTI leader said.

Azam Tarar says governor’s rule or emergency can happen

Meanwhile, calls from federal representatives for imposing governor’s rule or an emergency in KP intensified, with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar saying that such a move could be made if required.

“If such conditions, where the constitution demands governor’s rule to be implemented or an emergency declared, are there or they arise, it can and will definitely happen,” he told Geo News.

“If the mechanism in the constitution requires it, all these things will happen,” Azam said.

In his media talk at Peshawar Press Club, Muqam said “all conditions” required by the law for imposing governor’s rule existed.

Criticising Afridi’s governance, Muqam asserted that his “CM-ship would not continue and no one will be able to save him”.

“Afridi sahib, be ready, you will be behind bars. You will be held accountable for the loot and plundering you have done,” the minister said.

He criticised the PTI’s alleged lack of concern regarding the security challenges, contending that the party did not have enough public support.

The federal minister described the Afridi-led provincial government as a complete failure on all fronts, claiming that it had neglected public welfare and that corruption was widespread in KP.

Muqam further said that PTI leaders were conducting political activities across the country and did not appear to have any fear of terrorist attacks, even as other parties’ leaders faced such threats.

Separately, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi held a meeting with Muqam to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in the province and political developments, state-run APP reported.

NA Standing Committee on Defence Chairman Fatihullah Khan Miankhel, National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief Mohsin Dawar, PPP Parliamentary Leader in KP Assembly Ahmad Kundi and MPA Sobia Khan were among those present.

The participants exchanged views on the prevailing security situation, political uncertainty and other issues, and “deliberated on a number of proposals”, the APP report said.

The leaders expressed serious concern over the rising incidents of insecurity in the province and termed the worsening situation a result of what they described as the provincial government’s failure to maintain law and order.

Speaking to the media, Kundi warned the PTI government not to “force the Centre” to impose governor’s rule and urged it to further postpone its long march currently set for Oct 4.

Kundi said that in his opinion, governor’s rule could be imposed if the federal government deemed it necessary “to save the province”.

“Fire is raging here,” he said while speaking on the province’s security situation.

“I advise the provincial government to postpone their long march due to the law and order situation, call all stakeholders and political parties to discuss peace in the province, and fight terrorism on the frontline.”

He contended that the PTI wanted to march on Islamabad and “spread chaos” even when terrorist incidents in KP were claiming people’s lives.

Afridi responds to ‘white paper’ on KP govt

In a post on X in the evening, CM Afridi asserted that the KP police and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) were “extremely capable and equipped with modern weapons”.

He appeared to be specifically responding to Wali’s allegations, sharing a screenshot from the latter’s press conference earlier.

According to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, the PML-N’s KP chapter issued a white paper on the provincial government’s performance.

Pictures of the white paper’s cover shared by Wali and Bilour said the document pertained to the KP government’s “misgovernance during past one year” — since Afridi came to power.

The PML-N leaders said over Rs800bn had been given to KP for counterterrorism efforts, but the provincial government had miserably failed to equip the police with much-needed sophisticated weapons and equipment.

Giving a presentation, Wali said the KP CTD had only nine M4 rifles and 11 night vision devices for the entire province.

“Bulletproof vehicles provided by the Centre were returned with arrogance and mockery, and today the province has just 17 vehicles. In contrast, Punjab has 76, and even a low-budget province like Balochistan has 42 bulletproof vehicles.”

The PM’s coordinator said the number of police personnel martyred between January and June in 2025 rose by almost 94 per cent in the same period this year.

Similarly, injuries to police personnel rose 108pc during the period, while terrorist attacks between January and September 2026 increased by 33pc compared to the same period in 2025.

Speaking alongside him, Bilour highlighted that CM Afridi held his first meeting of the provincial apex committee in February, 112 days after taking oath.

She particularly pointed out that Afridi focused a Sept 21 media talk, held just three days after the Kohat attack, on the PTI’s long march plans and dismissed a journalist’s question on the province’s situation.

The PML-N leaders further alleged that the Afridi-led government has failed to curb the spread of drugs.

According to his post, Afridi saw a conspiracy for an attack, which he described as an attempt to prove that KP police and CTD were weak.

“Is the PML-N seeing KP as a testing ground and planning a major move?” he questioned.

He alleged that Heavy Industries Taxila, which operates under the Centre, “is deliberately slowing down the delivery of the supplies despite payment by the provincial government”.

The chief minister added that a payment had been made for weapons provided to the KP police but “other supplies are not being delivered despite the payment”.

He warned of a strong response to any attempt at an “adventure”.

‘KP’s incompetent leadership’

In Islamabad, the state minister for interior said the PTI-led KP government had not made adequate efforts to combat terrorism.

He noted that a political leadership could “provide three things in the fight against terrorism: leadership, resources and powers”.

Chaudhry contended that the provincial administration in KP — where the PTI has been in power since 2013 — “did not provide leadership to the security forces over the past 14 years”.

The interior official accused the PTI-led government of “creating space” for terrorists.

“If Pakistan is burning in the fire of terrorism, it is because of KP’s incompetent leadership,” he maintained.

Chaudhry then noted that it was the provincial government’s responsibility to allocate funds for counter-terrorism in the budget.

“[Then], why did you not provide the resources?” he asked, adding that CTD was still not functional in the entire province.

“Your forces cannot fight unarmed. You do not have bulletproof jackets, cars, training, CTD, Safe City [project], or a forensic lab,” he said, claiming that Safe City projects had been completed on the tehsil level as well in Punjab.

The state minister sought accountability from KP over the usage of even 1pc of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which he said amounted to Rs800bn.

Chaudhry pointed out that Afridi and his information minister did not attend the funeral prayers of the victims of the Sept 18 Kohat blast, but were rather “busy in their street movement or other matters”.

He recalled that the KP CM held a “very lengthy” press conference in Dera Ismail Khan in the wake of Saturday’s suicide blast, which claimed 12 lives.

“Why did they not condemn Afghanistan? Why do you have a soft attitude on Afghanistan? Why do you deliberately employ such ambiguity and demeanour, and do not openly condemn or name the real enemy or from where these proxies operate?” he asked.

Chaudhry reiterated his criticism of the recent KP Police Act, which has been proposed to replace a 2017 version and is aimed at curtailing the powers of the provincial inspector general (IG).

He also responded to PTI’s allegation that the party had not been included in discussions about war on terrorism, saying that the party leadership did not show up to meetings when invited.

“You come to Islamabad to demand NFC funds, but your CM does not show up for anti-terrorism meetings,” Chaudhry said.

Speaking alongside him, Tarar said PTI had not taken ownership of the fight against terrorism, again terming the party as the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) “B team”.

He alleged that PTI had facilitated terrorists in its over 12 years of governing KP and that it was not condemning them as it “suits PTI’s financial interests”.

“Sohail Afridi organised a ceremony and two Afghans did not stand up to pay respect to the national anthem. If I was there, I would have dealt with them right then and there. I would have banned them,” Tarar said.

Such an incident took place in September 2024, when PTI’s Ali Amin Gandapur was serving as the chief minister.

Tarar went on to highlight that the KP government had not ensured the registration of all vehicles yet, as doing so makes the “surveillance of terrorists easier”.

He added that potential revenue generated from car registration could have been used for the benefit of the people of KP.

“You sacrificed the security of the entire province for your political gains.

“You will now have to decide if you are with Pakistan or with Afghanistan. It is as clear as that,” the information minister declared.

Reacting to the duo’s press conference, the PTI called for holding the federal and Punjab governments accountable, instead of levelling allegations against KP.

In a statement, the party maintained that the information minister should explain on what basis he was labelling the entire provincial government as facilitators of terrorists, provided that the people of KP, police, security personnel, and political workers had made the “greatest” sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

“Instead of political point-scoring, Attaullah Tarar should respect the blood of the martyrs,” it contended.

“In such circumstances, it is a national responsibility for the federal minister to cooperate with the province instead of levelling accusations.”

It urged Tarar to note the treatment facilities being provided under the PTI government’s Sehat Card programmes before lecturing the people of KP on health facilities.

“Why has it not been possible to ensure the provision of quality and timely medical facilities to the people in Punjab as well?” the PTI asked.

“Attaullah Tarar should also take a look at the state of affairs in Punjab,” it said, adding that 21pc of children aged 5 to 16 in Punjab were out of school according to a Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report.

Moreover, the PTI claimed that the farmers in Punjab were also forced to take to the streets to resolve their issues.

Afghanistan’s ‘true face’

During his press conference, Tallal Chaudhry also highlighted the Afghan Taliban’s support for terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to TTP, that are used for attacks in Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

The state minister noted that terrorist “proxies are financed by our eastern border and their hideouts are on the western border”.

He emphasised that Islamabad had employed “every way” to convey its concerns to Kabul, including dialogue, dossiers and international forums, but to no avail.

Referring to the recent attack on a rescue vehicle carrying DI Khan blast victims, Chaudhry said that attacking rescue teams was not allowed even during war.

“This is their true face. Is this jihad? Even an enemy with some rules does not carry out such attacks.”

He said such terrorist activities were carried out in exchange for receiving funds in dollars, which were proportional to the number of casualties.

The interior official asserted that Pakistan had the “best systems” for investigating the identity of a suspected terrorist.

“Very few countries have enough data that in less than a minute, any heinous crime or terrorist incident-related information can be accessed in Nadra and other databases […] we instantly find out whether they are Pakistanis [or not].”

He then recalled that when authorities did not find any details in the database for a recent incident, they used open-source intelligence and geolocated a terrorist’s picture to Kabul’s Pashtunistan Square.

September witnessed another bout of conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the former saying it struck terrorist sites in the border region in response to a recent spate of terrorist attacks.

Pakistan conducted “aerial and drone strikes” in another 10 locations across Afghanistan in retaliation for drones launched from across the border that were shot down in KP.

The Foreign Office (FO) has said a demarche was also delivered to the Afghan side on Saturday on account of the Sept 23 airspace violation by drones.

This was reflected in a resolution passed by the held region’s assembly on Monday, which called for a restoration of statehood that was scrapped when the Indian constitution’s Article 370 was abrogated in 2019. The occupied area’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, claimed that statehood was “our right”. BJP lawmakers termed the resolution “anti-national”. Two similar resolutions have been passed over the years by the IHK legislature.

The problem goes far deeper than the restoration of the status quo ante that existed before August 2019. The core issue is the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, which India has been blocking since the division of the subcontinent. Unless this core issue is addressed with justice, the problem will linger as Kashmiris in the occupied territory are denied their fundamental rights. While speaking at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also highlighted the Kashmir issue, saying that Kashmiris had been waiting “for eight decades” for the UN to fulfil its commitments. He also pointed out the human rights violations that India has carried out against the Kashmiri population. Turkiye’s President Recep Erdogan, while speaking at the UNGA, similarly called for a resolution of the Kashmir question as per the “relevant resolutions”.

The human rights situation in the disputed region is very grim. A UN report from November 2025 has condemned the arbitrary arrests, suspicious deaths in custody, torture and “discriminatory treatment of Kashmiri and Muslim communities”. Held Kashmir’s wounds cannot be left to fester. The people of Kashmir, including even those politicians who were or are close to New Delhi, are chafing under the post-Article 370 regime in the held region. Along with rights abuses, there is also alarm over the demographic changes in IHK, as the Kashmiris are being turned into a minority in their own land. The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan. India’s rulers can continue to believe the fiction that occupied Kashmir is an ‘integral’ part of their country. But that does nothing to address the dissatisfaction that both the common Kashmiri and the political elite of the region feel towards Indian rule. The dispute has poisoned all chances of normalisation in South Asia. Instead of arrogantly dismissing talk of freedom, India’s rulers need to listen to voices from IHK, and together with Pakistan, work towards a just solution to this dispute.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2026

The government on Tuesday reduced the price of petrol by Rs1.49 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.73 per litre.

Following the revision, petrol will retail at Rs387.54 per litre, while HSD will cost Rs402.24 per litre. The government continues to levy Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.

According to the Petroleum Division’s notification, the new prices are applicable for Sept 30 (Wednesday).

The price of HSD has come down from a peak of Rs520.35 recorded on April 3. Its price had started rising from Rs281 per litre after the US-Iran war broke out on February 28.

The petrol price had peaked at Rs458.41 on April 3 after beginning its upward trajectory from Rs266 in the first week of March.

Meanwhile, the government has reintroduced a raft of austerity measures in response to rising fuel prices amid the ongoing Middle East conflict. Under these measures, markets are required to close by 9pm and fuel allocations for official vehicles has been cut by 50 per cent for three months.

On September 13, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced a “relief scheme” for users of motorcycles, autos and vehicles of up to 800cc to “alleviate the burden” of rising global oil prices.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sept 29 appreciated the success of the scheme, saying that it reflected a “whole of government” approach.

Chairing a meeting of the National Steering Committee on Fuel Subsidy to review the implementation of the scheme, the deputy premier noted that the information, IT and petroleum ministries, as well as the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and all provinces, had made “concerted” efforts for the scheme.

It was noted that to date, around 7.60 million registrations have been successfully made, and the token redemption process has entered the second week. Moreover, 7.71m tokens have been redeemed.

Previously, on July 17, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced that fuel prices would now be fixed on a daily basis due to fluctuations in international market prices following renewed hostilities between Iran and the US.

Prior to this, the government had been announcing weekly revisions to fuel prices since early March, alongside measures for the conservation of fuel amid possible oil supply disruptions due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The federal government in April also announced targeted relief measures to provide subsidised fuel.

The petroleum minister stated that the cabinet and the prime minister had decided to give the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) the responsibility of deciding fuel prices on a daily basis based on international market trends.

Petrol is mainly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers, and changes in its price affect the middle and lower-middle classes.

Similarly, changes in diesel prices also impact the public at large, as it is mainly used in the heavy transport sector, power plants and large generators.

Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) are the major revenue earners, with monthly sales of about 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes, compared to just 10,000 tonnes of monthly demand for kerosene.

A thousand kilometres to the east, in the Khumbu region of Nepal, the same story is unfolding on the slopes below Everest.

Two countries, separated by India’s landmass and decades of diplomatic distance, are quite literally standing on the same melting ground.

It is time Islamabad and Kathmandu recognised what geography has been telling them all along: their futures are tied together by ice, water and risk, and neither can afford to keep looking at the mountains alone.

The numbers are no longer abstract.

Research from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Kathmandu-based body that has monitored the Hindu Kush Himalaya for half a century, found that glaciers across the region have lost as much as 27 metres of ice thickness since 1975, with the rate of loss having doubled since the turn of the century.

Pakistan alone is home to roughly 13,000 glaciers, and the Indus, the river that irrigates the bulk of Pakistani agriculture and sustains its hydropower, draws an extraordinary 70 per cent of its flow from glacier and snowmelt.

Nepal’s glaciers, including the closely watched Mera and Rikha Samba, serve the same role for South Asia’s eastern river systems.

When ICIMOD’s scientists call this region the “Third Pole” and the “Water Tower of Asia”, they are not being poetic. They are describing the plumbing that keeps nearly 2 billion people alive.

Pakistan has already paid the price of treating this as someone else’s problem. The 2022 floods were not simply an unlucky monsoon.

The country received close to 190pc of its normal July-August rainfall, with Sindh and Balochistan hit by rainfall multiples far beyond historical norms, and the result was catastrophe: over 1,700 dead, 33 million people affected, roughly a third of the country under water, and a UN-backed Post-Disaster Needs Assessment putting total damages and economic losses above $30bn, with reconstruction needs exceeding $16bn.

Pakistan’s government and independent assessments alike have pointed to a common driver behind that disaster, a warming Himalayan and Karakoram system dumping glacial meltwater into rivers already swollen by erratic rain.

This is precisely the “compound risk” that ICIMOD hydrologists have flagged in the region more broadly: rising temperatures, unstable slopes and unpredictable rainfall no longer arrive as isolated events but stack on top of one another, as seen even in this year’s flash flooding in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Thore Valley.

Nepal understands this compounding danger as well as any country on earth. It has spent years building glacial lake outburst flood monitoring systems, evacuation protocols for high-altitude valleys, and community-based early warning networks precisely because its mountain villages have nowhere to run when a lake bursts.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has real operational experience of its own, in flood forecasting for the Indus basin, in cold-climate agricultural adaptation, and in managing glacier-fed irrigation systems that are among the most extensive in the world.

Put simply: Nepal has hard-won expertise in glacial hazard monitoring, and Pakistan has hard-won expertise in managing the downstream consequences at a massive scale.

Neither country has had to build both halves of this puzzle alone before, and neither should have to now.

This is where a bilateral climate framework, modest in ambition but serious in substance, makes sense.

Islamabad and Kathmandu could begin with something achievable: a joint glacier and hydrology monitoring exchange, building on the scientific groundwork ICIMOD has already laid across its eight member states.

Pakistani meteorological and irrigation authorities could share Indus basin flood-forecasting models with Nepal’s disaster management agencies, while Nepal’s glacial lake outburst flood expertise could inform Pakistan’s own early-warning systems for the roughly 3,000 glacial lakes identified in its northern territories, some of which are classified as dangerously unstable.

None of this requires reinventing diplomatic wheels. It requires Pakistan to assert, clearly and confidently, that it is a mountain nation with mountain interests, not merely a downstream victim waiting for the next disaster, but a serious technical partner capable of shaping how South Asia adapts.

There is also a quieter strategic logic here. Pakistan has long been boxed into a regional conversation dominated by its relationship with India, one that leaves little room for the kind of functional, low-politics cooperation that climate diplomacy allows.

Nepal, similarly, has often been treated as a subject of Indian and Chinese strategic competition rather than an actor. A Pakistan–Nepal climate channel sidesteps that framing entirely.

It is not about alliances or rivalries; it is about rivers, ice, and the shared arithmetic of survival. That makes it precisely the kind of cooperation both nations can pursue without inviting the usual regional anxieties and precisely the kind of cooperation that lets Pakistan demonstrate leadership on an issue where it has genuine standing to speak.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya assessment that ICIMOD produced years ago carried a blunt warning: even if the world holds warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the region will still lose roughly a third of its glacier volume by century’s end; under weaker climate action, that loss could reach two-thirds.

Pakistan does not have the luxury of waiting to see which scenario unfolds. Every flood season narrows the window for building the kind of resilient, cooperative infrastructure that could soften the next disaster instead of merely responding to it.

Himalayan diplomacy will not solve Pakistan’s water and climate vulnerabilities on its own.

But it offers something rarer than a solution: a genuine, forward-looking partnership built on shared mountains rather than shared grievances. Pakistan should seize it, not as a favour to Nepal, but as an act of enlightened self-interest for a nation that lives, quite literally, downstream of the Third Pole.

Header image: View of the landscape from Langtang, Nepal can be seen in this undated handout file photo. — Tika Gurung via Reuters

On Saturday, an ATC had issued a contempt of court notice to the Adiala jail superintendent for allegedly failing to facilitate the signing and transmission of vakalatnamas required to file bail petitions for Imaan and Chattha.

ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra heard a petition concerning the signing of the powers of attorney, with lawyers Riasat Ali Azad and others appearing on behalf of the two accused.

During the hearing, the court directed the superintendent of Adiala jail to formulate rules governing the signing of powers of attorney by prisoners, observing that the process should not become an obstacle to access to justice.

“The superintendent is directed to formulate rules regarding vakalatnamas,” the judge said.

The court was informed that the powers of attorney of Imaan and Hadi had been signed. Subsequently, the judge dropped the contempt proceedings against the jail authorities and disposed of the petition.

Expressing concern over the difficulties faced by lawyers in getting the necessary documents signed, Justice Sipra remarked: “If this is happening to lawyers, what must be happening to the vakalatnamas of ordinary litigants?”

Advocate Zainab told the court that the high court had established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the process. She said the jail authorities should ensure that the procedure did not become a form of punishment for prisoners seeking legal representation.

The judge observed that, in the past, vakalatnamas had sometimes been signed in holding cells or inside vehicles, adding that the introduction of SOPs had brought considerable improvement, although occasional problems persisted.

“The path to justice begins with the signing of the vakalatnama,” the judge remarked.

In a separate proceeding, ATC Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain heard the bail petitions filed by Imaan and Hadi in a case registered against them at Kohsar police station in connection with a protest.

The court issued notices to the parties and directed them to present their arguments on the bail petitions on Oct 5.

Meanwhile, former federal minister Shireen Mazari said Imaan and Hadi had been produced before the court after it was opened at night.

However, Judge Zulqarnain clarified that the court had not been opened at night and was already conducting proceedings.

He said he had remained seated after being informed that a remand hearing was forthcoming.

Imaan and Hadi were sentenced in January to 17 years on multiple charges under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) in the controversial social media posts case.

On Sept 18, the Supreme Court suspended their sentences and ordered their release on bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000 each. The SC ordered the couple’s release on bail pending the Islamabad High Court’s final verdict on their appeals against the trial court’s decision.

However, the reprieve was short-lived as hours later, Islamabad police arrested the couple again in connection with another case registered at the federal capital’s Kohsar police station on March 22 last year on the complaint of City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio. The police produced them before an ATC, which sent them to jail on judicial remand.

Imaan and her husband were accused of chanting anti-government slogans and blocking roads and were nominated by name in the first information report. However, at the time of registration of the case, no section of the Anti-Terrorism Act had been added.

Aleema was detained on Sep 20 after the Lahore deputy commissioner ordered her detention or arrest under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance.

The detention has come amid reports of a crackdown on the PTI ahead of its countrywide protest and march to Islamabad, which the party has postponed to Oct 4. The protest has been called to demand Imran’s release from jail and mobilise people for the supremacy of the Constitution.

Assistant Advocate General Farrukh Khan Lodhi submitted a report on behalf of the Kot Lakhpat jail superintendent during the hearing of a petition filed by Shahrez Khan, Aleema’s son.

According to the report, Aleema had been provided with a bedsheet, blanket, shoes, six suits and a towel. She was also given face wash, a toothbrush, a skincare kit and a shawl, it added.

In light of the government’s report, Justice Abher Gul Khan disposed of the petition.

The judge also directed the home secretary to decide, in accordance with the law, on the petitioner’s request seeking permission to meet Aleema.

At the last hearing on Sept 26, Barrister Taimur Malik had told the court that his client, Aleema, was facing difficulties in receiving her medicines and other essentials in jail.

Aleema’s sisters, Dr Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, have also been detained for 30 days ahead of the PTI’s protest and march to Islamabad.

On Sept 24, the LHC turned down a request to immediately suspend the preventive detention notifications issued against Noreen and Uzma.

Our rulers entice patron states to bankroll a near-bankrupt state via its geopolitical, not economic, value. Rulers exploit both for personal, not public, gains. They court patrons well, but turn patronage into public progress poorly and personal profits ably. So, our growth spurts are all import-led rather than export-led. We spend dollars faster than we earn and court crises. We recover by choking growth instead of increasing it alongside exports. We have had several chances but have squandered most of them.

Musharraf squandered the biggest one this century. He ruled the longest, with the deep state and opposition under his thumb, and gained over $45bn in US aid, debt relief, FDI, and portfolio inflows after 9/11. Yet, a strong export base eluded him. Inflows fuelled consumption, imports, and property binges and bubbles; volatile portfolio funds and domestically focused FDI later led to outflows. They initially kept the rupee high, hurting exports. Their value doubled, but value-added dawdled and the export-GDP ratio fell below 1990s levels. A record current account deficit of 8.2 per cent of GDP in 2008 led to a big crisis. Bad security policies fuelled two conflicts that still hurt progress. The PPP cut the deficit. But energy woes, insecurity, ineptitude and failed reforms reduced growth.

Later, CPEC provided over $20 billion for energy and roads. This eased energy gaps, but the PML-N failed to build a durable export base. An expensive rupee led to an import surge and a current account deficit of about 6pc by 2018. The PTI had brought it down to 0.6pc by 2021 and managed the Covid phase well. But the Covid stimulus raised imports as exports lagged. The deficit rose to 4.6pc in 2022, partly due to global price shocks and political turmoil. So, the PML-N bequeathed a crisis to the PTI only to inherit one back, karma-style.

We spend dollars faster than we earn and court crises.

Import-led growth led to dollar crunches. Instead of curbing crises, high reserves made them more likely as rulers increased imports to fuel growth. Their frequency and common causes could have taught the current rulers how to avert such crises. But they are as clueless about them as they are about regular floods, even though such crises can be foreseen and forestalled. This is worse than incompetence; it shows wilful neglect. They cause and gain from such crises. The people are worse off now.

As CPEC flows shrank, we courted IMF loans and state deposits, which ballooned from 36pc of the State Bank’s reserves in 2016, when deposits were only $700 million, to nearly 600pc in early 2023. About $11bn in IMF debt, $8bn in Saudi deposits and $4bn in Chinese deposits together still exceed even our highest-ever SBP reserves of $21bn. We are the most persistent user of both crutches over time, and we now have the second-most such deposits and the third-most IMF debt globally. They are on top of an external debt of over $80bn. Unlike that debt, they don’t fund projects or jobs directly, earn no direct revenue to pay the interest and are taken only due to a dollar crunch. Even these crutches may not carry the weight of our follies, so we now eye a $10bn lifeline from our oldest but most fickle patron — the US. Bangladesh, once our lesser half, has no such deposits, and its IMF debt is only 13pc of reserves as its $48bn exports mock our $30bn levels.

Such crutches hurt. The PML-N and PTI both ignited growth spurts as reserves peaked. Despite hi­­g­her SBP reserves now, this set-up hasn’t cha­nged outcomes, given the nature of its rese­rve cushion. The IMF keeps us on a leash, and patron-state de­­posits can be recalled quickly (as in the UAE case), unlike flows with longer, fi­_xed return dates. So, even patronage quality has fallen: from post-9/11 aid and debt relief to CPEC flows to harsh loans and fickle deposits. We now build reserves precariously rather than finance them prudently or earn them creatively.

After four years, this set-up boasts only stabilisation and opaque foreign forays. But as a strong export base and growth elude it, stabilisation is really stagnation. Foreign forays are sucking us into endless wars, jeopardising our own security for the sake of others. We face two risky paths: hobble on with slow growth and risk unrest, or rush recklessly into import-led growth to court a dollar crisis and unrest. With no major investments here even from the patrons it serves loyally, only the two crutches prop up a bailout state. How long will its weak life jackets keep it afloat?

The writer has a PhD in political economy from the University of California, Berkeley, and 25 years of grassroots-to-senior-level experience across 50 countries.

murtazaniaz@yahoo.com

X: @NiazMurtaza2

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026