A welcome step for Pakistani students

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement has reached a new level of importance. US President Donald Trump has publicly welcomed the pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. This is not a small development. When the president of the United States acknowledges a regional defence framework, it sends a signal to the whole world. It tells other nations that this agreement carries real weight, not just symbolic value. Trump called it a step toward greater regional security. He said it shows Middle Eastern and regional states are willing to strengthen their own ability to protect themselves. This recognition matters. It places the pact on the global radar. It also gives Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye a stronger diplomatic standing as they build this new framework of cooperation. The agreement was signed in Makkah on August 7, bringing together Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Erdogan. It focuses on collective deterrence, defence planning, intelligence sharing and strategic coordination. Erdogan himself has called it a message for global peace, especially given rising US-Iran tensions. Yet a serious question remains unanswered. Where is the response from the Gulf Cooperation Council? Where is the voice of the Arab League? Both organisations represent the wider Arab and Gulf world. Both have a direct stake in regional security matters. Their silence on such a major defence pact is puzzling. This agreement was signed in Saudi Arabia, a leading GCC member. It naturally affects the interests of every Gulf state. Yet there has been no clear statement, no formal reaction from these key regional bodies. This silence raises real concerns. Does it suggest internal disagreement among Gulf states? Does it hint at hesitation to publicly support a pact that includes Türkiye and Pakistan? Or is this simply strategic caution before making a formal position? Whatever the reason, this silence cannot continue indefinitely. Regional stability requires clarity, not ambiguity. The GCC and Arab League must break their silence soon. Their voice matters just as much as any global power’s approval.

An eight-member medical board has found that Mir Raza Ali died from a gunshot wound to the back. The board also found several serious injuries on his body from before death. This discovery changes the direction of a case that has drawn wide attention. The report came after a court ordered his grave to be opened at Karachi’s Rehmanial Masjid Graveyard. Doctors found a small entry wound on his upper back. The bullet broke a rib, tore through the heart, and exited from the chest. Doctors also found blood collected under the skin. This shows the injury happened while he was still alive. The doctors found more injuries too. They found bruises on the skull, a broken nose bone, and swelling on the face. There was also a crack running along the back of the skull, filled with dried blood. Marks were found near the throat area as well, though decay in the body made some tests harder to complete. The board has not given a final cause of death yet. Doctors have sent skin, muscle, hair, and bone samples for further testing. This new report turns the case from a missing person search into a suspected murder investigation. The Sindh government deserves credit here. By backing a court-ordered exhumation and a full medical board review, it has given this case a real chance at truth and justice. This kind of careful, science-based approach is exactly what difficult cases like this need. But what we need is a clear and reliable system for postmortem examinations across the board. Every case deserves properly trained doctors, modern lab facilities, and independent oversight from the start. Delays and unclear reports only hurt victims and their families. The Sindh government should build on this case by setting fixed rules for exhumations and postmortems, so families never have to wait years for the truth.

The Foreign Office has welcomed a new development in the Gaza peace process. The development is about Hamas agreeing to disarm. Officials in Islamabad say this could open the door to a lasting political solution and the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the mediation work of the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye. He spoke after US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement had been reached on the complete disarmament of Hamas. This issue had remained one of the biggest obstacles since the ceasefire began in October 2025. The prime minister said Pakistan supports the work of the Board of Peace. He said he hopes all commitments under the Gaza Peace Plan will now move toward real action. He also said diplomatic efforts should lead to a clear and time bound political process. This process should follow United Nations resolutions. The goal remains an independent Palestinian state, based on the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. According to Hamas officials, a committee under the Board of Peace will now supervise how the group’s weapons are stored. Hamas has also asked mediators to make sure Israel keeps its side of the deal. This includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. This raises an important question. While Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons, what steps have been taken to hold Israel accountable? Based on available reports, Hamas and mediating countries have raised the demand for Israeli withdrawal, but no confirmed timeline or enforcement mechanism for this withdrawal has been announced yet. The ceasefire framework places this responsibility on continued diplomatic pressure from mediators such as the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye, rather than on any independent monitoring body with power to act against Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli aggression has not fully stopped. Fresh Israeli strikes reportedly killed at least four Palestinians, including two children. This shows how fragile the situation remains, even as diplomatic talks continue. Egyptian media report that Cairo will host another meeting of ceasefire mediators soon. Representatives from the United States, Qatar, and Türkiye are expected to attend and discuss the next phase of the peace plan. Pakistan has long supported the Palestinian cause. It continues to call for an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. 

The suicide bombing at Kabal Police Station in Swat has claimed 17 lives. Seven police officials  and 10 civilians were martyred in this attack. More than 23 injured people are still fighting for their lives in hospitals. We pray for their speedy recovery. This attack was not just on a police station. It was an attack on the peace of an entire community. The people of Swat have already suffered greatly from terrorism in the past. They rebuilt their lives after years of conflict. They deserved better than this bloodshed. Markets closed across Kabal as residents mourned their dead. This attack must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The bomber used between six and eight kilograms of explosives. Police officers showed real courage. They stopped the bomber from reaching his main target. Their bravery saved many more lives. These officers deserve recognition, not just words of praise. Their families deserve the full compensation that has been promised to them, delivered without delay. The formation of a Joint Investigation Team is a necessary step. Investigators must move quickly and use every modern tool available to find those responsible. But investigation alone is not enough. Pakistan needs a sustained and serious campaign against terrorism, not scattered responses after each tragedy. Chief Minister Muhammad Suhail Khan Afridi used this moment to blame federal security policies. This kind of political point scoring serves no one right now. Terrorism is a threat to the entire country. It cannot be treated as a provincial problem or a political weapon. What Khyber Pakhtunkhwa needs is genuine cooperation between the provincial and federal governments, not finger pointing while bodies are still being buried. The Rs20 billion allocation for police capacity is a welcome move. But money alone will not defeat this threat. Pakistan needs unity among political parties, religious leaders, security forces, and ordinary citizens. Terrorists thrive on division. They exploit political blame games and public distrust. Every time leaders turn a tragedy into a political argument, they hand terrorists a small victory. The victims of Kabal deserve more than condolences. They deserve a state that protects its citizens and brings the guilty to justice without delay. They deserve leaders who put aside politics and work together against a common enemy. Pakistan has defeated terrorism before through unity and sacrifice. It must find that same resolve again. Swat has bled too many times. This must be the last time.

The Supreme Court has given a landmark ruling on women’s rights. It has declared that a woman’s right to seek khula, or judicial divorce, is a constitutional right. The court said that violence against a woman for exercising this right is an attack on the Constitution itself. A three member bench dismissed the jail petition of convict Waseem Abbas and upheld his death sentence. Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar wrote the four page detailed judgment. The court said women are fully protected under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution, which guarantee their security, dignity and equal rights. It said anyone who uses violence against a woman seeking khula will face the full force of the law, and called the killing of a woman for exercising her legal right an act of brutality and open defiance of the law. The court also ruled that a person involved in a cold blooded and planned murder does not deserve any concession. It clarified that the testimony of relatives cannot be automatically rejected in cases that happen inside a home. Forensic evidence, including a match between bullet casings and the weapon linked to the crime, gave conclusive proof against the accused. The court found no flaw in the lower courts’ decisions. According to the case record, Waseem Abbas shot and killed his former wife, Shehnaz Bibi, on October 11, 2020, about 48 hours after she obtained a khula decree from a family court. A trial court had sentenced him to death, and the Lahore High Court upheld that sentence. This judgment sends a strong message and gives justice in this one case. But the law alone cannot protect every woman in Shehnaz Bibi’s position. Many women never even reach the court, because they fear exactly this kind of violence at home. A verdict can punish a killer after the fact, but it cannot undo the loss of a life. To truly protect women, society itself needs to change how it views a woman’s right to leave a marriage. Courts can deliver justice, but only a shift in mindset, at home, in communities, and among families, can prevent the next Shehnaz Bibi.

The Punjab government has set the new wheat release price at Rs3,800 per maund. This decision raises a serious question. Why is the province paying more now than it paid to its own farmers. Earlier this year, wheat growers across Punjab sold their crop at rates far lower than Rs3,800 per maund. Many farmers struggled to cover their basic costs. Fertiliser, diesel, and labour prices kept rising, but the government did not offer a fair price at harvest time. Now, months later, the same government is buying wheat from PASSCO at Rs4,150 per maund. This is imported wheat, bought at a much higher cost than what local farmers received. This gap sends a troubling message to the farming community. It tells them that growing wheat at home is less valuable than buying it from abroad. A farmer who works through the heat, spends money on seeds and water, and waits months for the harvest ends up earning less than what the state later pays for imported grain. This is not fair, and it is not sustainable. If this pattern continues, farmers may simply lose interest in wheat cultivation. Punjab is the backbone of Pakistan’s wheat production. If growers shift to other crops or leave farming altogether, the country could face a bigger crisis in the coming years. Food security cannot depend on imports alone. The federal and provincial governments must rethink this approach. Farmers need a support price that reflects their real costs and effort, announced before sowing season begins, not after imports have already been arranged. Punjab also needs to invest in storage and procurement systems so that local wheat is bought and stored efficiently, without forcing the province to rely on costlier imported stock. Protecting the price of roti for consumers is important. But that protection should not come at the cost of the farmer who grows the wheat in the first place.