Opinion

Pakistan stands as a living testament to an enduring spiritual and ideological conviction. From its very inception, the rallying cry that unified millions were both simple and profound: “What does Pakistan mean? La ilaha illallah.” Under this banner of faith in the Oneness of Allah, the nation emerged on the world map in 14 August 1947, as a homeland for Muslims of the Subcontinent, guided by the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the philosophical foresight of Allama Iqbal. It was not merely a political endeavour but the realisation of a distinct national identity rooted in Islamic ideals of justice, sovereignty, and unity. Yet the path was fraught with peril. Even before the new state could draw breath, formidable obstacles arose—economic collapse, mass migrations, and external scepticism. Many predicted that its borders would soon dissolve under pressure, but divine will ordained otherwise. Like a ship battling turbulent seas, Pakistan endured and reached the shores of stability through resilience and faith. As the country gained its footing, a landmark gathering in Lahore in February 1974 marked a turning point. The Second Islamic Summit Conference brought together leaders from 38 Muslim nations, including King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Muammar Gaddafi. Hosted by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, this assembly transformed individual aspirations into collective strength. Muslims, like fingers joining to form a mighty fist, stood united on a common platform. The summit addressed the aftermath of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, supported Palestinian and Arab causes, and elevated Pakistan’s stature as a bridge among Islamic nations. From this unity flowed a shared mission that propelled the country forward. Throughout its history, Pakistan has answered calls for global security and the stability of the Islamic world. It earned the honourable distinction of the Fortress of Islam, particularly through its longstanding commitment to safeguarding the Haramain Sharifain. Pakistani troops have served in Saudi Arabia since the 1970s, with deployments in training, advisory, and protective roles—often numbering over 10,000 at peaks, including during the 1990-91 Gulf War. This sacred duty reflects not mere strategy but a religious obligation deeply felt by the nation.  Adversaries, notably neighbouring India, seized every opportunity to portray Pakistan as a failing state. Yet at moments of trial, unseen help arrived. In May 2025, Pakistan demonstrated military prowess that astonished observers, restoring its lost prestige through resolute leadership that honoured the divine trust placed upon it. A landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia, signed on 17 September 2025 in Riyadh by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, formalised decades of brotherhood. This pact declares that any aggression against one is an aggression against both, encompassing comprehensive cooperation in defence, training, technology, and joint deterrence. Reports suggest potential deployment of up to thousands of Pakistani personnel and assets, including JF-17 aircraft, underscoring Pakistan’s role as a steadfast guardian.  Building upon this success, Pakistan has played a constructive mediating role in Gulf tensions, earning widespread appreciation for its balanced diplomacy. Cooperation with Turkey has deepened through bilateral deals in defence and trade, while Kuwait and other regional states have expressed interest in similar partnerships. Pakistan’s armed forces, with approximately 650,000–685,000 active personnel—one of the world’s largest standing armies—alongside an estimated hundreds of nuclear warheads and modern platforms like JF-17 fighters and advanced missiles, provide credible strength to these endeavours.  Looking to the future, Pakistan’s perspective remains one of hope anchored in unity and good intentions. The day is not distant when an alliance of Islamic countries, forged through mutual respect and shared values, may emerge—bearing precedents in the European Union or NATO yet rooted firmly in Islamic principles of solidarity. Such a framework would face formidable obstacles: historical differences, external influences, and economic disparities. Yet with the spirit that carried Pakistan through partition, the 1971 trials, and recent triumphs, it remains achievable. Pakistan, with its strategic location, military capability, and diplomatic bridges—linking South Asia, the Gulf, and beyond—can serve as a pivotal node in this vision. It continues to champion economic cooperation within the OIC, advocate for peace with justice on issues like Palestine and Kashmir, and promote connectivity that benefits the wider ummah. Pakistan’s journey, from ideological birth to its current resurgence, exemplifies faith sustained against the odds. As it advances, the nation carries not only the aspirations of its 250 million people but the hopes of many who see in its endurance a beacon for the Muslim world. With trust in Allah, unity among its ranks, and steadfast resolve, Pakistan is poised to fulfil a greater role in fostering stability, prosperity, and brotherhood across Islamic lands. The future beckons with challenge and opportunity alike; guided by its founding principles, the nation shall meet both with honour.

The fifth part of this series examined how Pakistan’s strategic location, domestic privileges and recurring external assistance have produced a rent-based political economy. The state has repeatedly obtained temporary relief without undertaking the constitutional and productive transformation required for genuine economic independence. Professor Ehtisham Ahmad’s proposed monograph, Can Pakistan evolve from a dependent “buffer state”? (shared with many including me), raises the right question at the right time. Unlike conventional reports that treat Pakistan merely as an under-taxed developing economy, he recognises the historical relationship between strategic rents, external dependency, fiscal weakness and recurring recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders. His central concern deserves serious engagement rather than routine approval or dismissal. This part is humble attempt to analyse his proposed monograph. Ehtisham Ahmad argues that Pakistan’s geographic position has periodically enabled it to obtain external assistance as a frontline or buffer state. During the Cold War, the Afghan conflict and the post-9/11 period, strategic usefulness generated substantial inflows. When geopolitical support receded, the IMF and multilateral institutions frequently stepped in to fill the breach. His published study, ‘Political Economy of Tax and Digital Transformations in Pakistan’, similarly connects Pakistan’s stop-go aid experience with its failure to undertake sustainable domestic resource mobilisation.  This is an important advance over revenue-only analysis. Pakistan’s persistent dependence cannot be explained simply by weak tax administration, low compliance or insufficient technical capacity. External rents have reduced the immediate pressure to negotiate a durable fiscal settlement with citizens. They have also strengthened institutions positioned to manage Pakistan’s strategic relationship with external powers. Ehtisham Ahmad is equally persuasive in identifying serious defects in Pakistan’s tax structure. He correctly criticises the conversion of value added tax (VAT) into a production excise, the proliferation of exemptions, the destruction of the invoice chain, cascading, excessive withholding taxation, nuisance levies and the absence of an arms-length administration. His insistence that taxation must be linked with growth, investment, distribution and political economy is entirely justified. His criticism of digitalisation without comprehensive change management is also timely. Computerising defective procedures cannot cure the institutional incentives that produced them. Linking identity numbers, tax registrations, invoices and financial information may improve enforcement, but technology cannot decide whether the law will be applied equally. These insights substantially overlap with the argument developed in this series. The difficulty arises at the next stage. Ehtisham begins with a powerful political-economy diagnosis but gradually returns to a largely public-finance remedy. Pakistan is first presented as a security-dependent buffer state; its continuing weakness is then explained mainly through the Government of India Act 1935, fragmented tax assignments, a split VAT, inadequate provincial own-source revenue and incomplete digital transformation. The analytical journey moves from geopolitics to tax architecture too quickly. Pakistan is not dependent merely because it has a badly designed VAT or an inefficient division of taxing powers. Its tax system has itself been shaped by the distribution of political, institutional and strategic power. Exemptions, withholding taxes, petroleum levies, blocked refunds and arbitrary concessions are not accidental departures from an otherwise neutral system. They reflect bargains through which burdens and benefits are distributed. Fiscal design matters greatly. It cannot by itself explain why successive governments have preserved arrangements that are demonstrably damaging to growth, documentation and equity. Ehtisham assigns considerable importance to the Government of India Act 1935. The Act undoubtedly institutionalised a colonial distribution of legislative and fiscal authority. It divided functions between the centre and provinces while reserving decisive powers for the Governor-General and provincial governors. Its legislative lists influenced the constitutional development of both India and Pakistan.  Colonial inheritance, however, cannot become a substitute for analysing postcolonial responsibility. Pakistan adopted constitutions in 1956, 1962 and 1973. It experienced repeated military interventions, the dismemberment of the country in 1971, presidential centralisation, uneven National Finance Commission Awards, extensive constitutional amendments and decades of external security alliances. Each period involved decisions made by domestic actors possessing agency, interests and power. The present Constitution of 1973 is not pari materia to “1972 Constitution”. The Interim Constitution operated in 1972, whereas the permanent constitutional settlement reached on April 10, 1973. The 1973 became operative from August 14, 1973. This is more than a matter of nomenclature. Pakistan’s fiscal federalism must be examined through the constitutional bargain consciously adopted after the catastrophe of 1971. The Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 also cannot be treated simply as Pakistan “doubling down” on the colonial arrangements of 1935. It was a democratic response to prolonged centralisation and an attempt to restore parliamentary federalism, provincial autonomy and the original character of the 1973 Constitution. Problems created by the division of sales tax on goods and services are real. Businesses should not be subjected to multiple registrations, conflicting interpretations, fragmented audits and unnecessary compliance costs.  A common base, harmonised definitions, integrated information, a clearing mechanism and coordinated administration are all necessary. Coordination need not mean re-centralisation. Pakistan’s federation cannot be redesigned solely for the convenience of tax administrators. Fiscal arrangements must also preserve provincial autonomy, democratic accountability and the lessons of constitutional history. A technically elegant centralised system may produce serious political and constitutional costs if imposed without consent. Ehtisham’s historical thesis requires similar caution. He suggests that the British deliberately sought to create a weak and dependent buffer state along the Indus to preserve strategic influence in the continuing “Great Game”. This is a significant hypothesis, deserving investigation through archival evidence. It should not be presented as settled history without fuller documentation. The official Cabinet Mission statement of May 16, 1946 expressly declined to recommend the transfer of power to two completely separate sovereign states. It proposed a Union dealing with foreign affairs, defence and communications, while residuary powers would remain with the provinces and provinces could form groups.  The document may be interpreted in different ways, but its stated scheme was for a united, highly decentralised India rather than the immediate creation of a separate buffer state.  Claims that the NWFP (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) referendum was secured through ballot stuffing, that

For more than a decade, the global debate over critical minerals has focused almost entirely on mining and extraction. Western policymakers, multinational mining companies and international financial institutions have invested billions of dollars in securing mineral reserves across Africa and Latin America. From cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Lithium Triangle of South America, the prevailing belief has been simple: control the mines and secure the future of the green energy transition. However, this overwhelming focus on extraction overlooks a fundamental reality of modern industrial power. In today’s world, strategic independence is not achieved simply by digging raw minerals out of the ground. True industrial strength lies in refining those raw materials into high-purity, battery-grade and industrial-grade minerals through advanced chemical processing. It is at this critical processing stage, often referred to as the “processing bottleneck,” that China has established an extraordinary and nearly unmatched global dominance. The Mining Illusion and China’s Refining Monopoly Understanding why Western efforts to reduce dependence on China continue to struggle requires recognising the crucial difference between mining and refining. Raw lithium extracted from Australian hard-rock mines or South American brine deposits cannot be used directly in electric vehicle batteries. It must first undergo complex chemical processing to produce lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate with a purity of 99.9 percent. The same applies to rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel and graphite. Without refining, raw minerals have little value for advanced technology or defence industries. This is where China’s true strength becomes evident. While the country’s share of global mining production is relatively limited, it dominates global refining capacity. China currently refines about 35 percent of the world’s nickel, between 50 and 70 percent of global lithium and cobalt, and nearly 90 percent of all rare earth elements. It also controls virtually 100 percent of the global market for spherical graphite, a key material used in battery anodes. This creates a major strategic challenge for Western economies. Even if companies in the United States, Europe or Australia develop new mines, much of the extracted material still has to be shipped to China for chemical processing. As a result, many attempts to bypass China ultimately continue to strengthen its refining ecosystem. The Structural Foundation of China’s Success China’s refining dominance is neither accidental nor simply the result of low labour costs. It reflects more than three decades of consistent industrial planning and state-backed investment. During the 1990s and early 2000s, many Western economies shifted heavy industries overseas to reduce costs and meet stricter environmental regulations. At the same time, China recognised that chemical refining would become the foundation of future technological leadership. Through successive five-year development plans, Beijing invested heavily in large-scale refining facilities, specialised metallurgical universities and low-cost energy infrastructure. Decades of research enabled Chinese engineers to master technologies capable of refining even low-grade ores efficiently and at relatively low cost. China also accepted the significant environmental costs associated with refining. Processing rare earth minerals produces toxic waste, radioactive by-products and hazardous chemicals. While strict environmental regulations and public opposition have made large-scale refining projects difficult in North America and Europe, China accepted these environmental challenges as part of its long-term national strategy. Why the West Cannot Easily Replicate China’s Model Concern over potential Chinese export restrictions has encouraged the United States and its allies to invest in domestic refining infrastructure. However, matching China’s industrial ecosystem remains an enormous challenge. Several major obstacles stand in the way First, time. Building a modern refining facility in Europe or North America typically takes seven to twelve years because of environmental approvals and legal procedures. In China, similar projects can often be completed in less than two years. Second, cost. Chinese refineries benefit from economies of scale, low electricity prices and extensive government support. Western facilities face much higher labour, environmental and operational expenses. Without strong financial guarantees, private investors remain reluctant to finance projects that could later become uncompetitive if China lowers prices. Third, skilled manpower. Decades of industrial outsourcing have reduced the number of mining metallurgists and chemical engineers in many Western countries. Meanwhile, China continues to produce thousands of specialised engineers every year, maintaining a steady pipeline of technical expertise. Strategic and Geopolitical Consequences China’s refining advantage extends far beyond electric vehicles and consumer electronics. It has become a critical factor in global defence and national security. Modern military equipment—including guided missiles, radar systems, nuclear submarines and fifth-generation fighter aircraft such as the F-35—depends heavily on refined rare earth magnets and processed critical metals. In the event of a military crisis involving Taiwan or the South China Sea, China would not necessarily need to block access to global mines. Instead, it could simply restrict exports of refined minerals. Such a move could disrupt Western defence manufacturing within months, even if friendly nations continued producing raw mineral resources. The global competition over critical minerals, therefore, is no longer centred solely on who owns the mines. It increasingly depends on who controls the refining process—the stage where China has built its strongest and most strategically important advantage.

Pakistan observed World Hepatitis Day on 28 July in Islamabad with a renewed national commitment to eliminating Hepatitis C and strengthening public health interventions through coordinated action, innovation, and community engagement. Under the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C Infection, the Government of Pakistan has launched free screening, free diagnostic testing, and free treatment for Hepatitis C patients across the country. The initiative represents a major public health intervention aimed at reducing the country’s exceptionally high burden of the disease and ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent patients from receiving timely diagnosis and life-saving treatment. The ceremony was attended by the Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal; the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal; the WHO Country Representative, Dr. Luo Dapeng; the Federal Secretary for Health, Muhammad Aslam Ghori; Professor Dr. Saeed Akhtar, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI&RC); the Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, Islamabad, Yasir Khan Niazi; Dr. Huma Qureshi; and Dr. Hassan Mahmood, Country Head of Integral Global. International delegates, representatives of national and international organizations, and leading health experts were also present. The event was organized by the Project Management Unit of the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C Infection under the leadership and supervision of Project Director Dr. Zia Dawar, in collaboration with Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, Islamabad, and Integral Global. The gathering provided an important platform to assess progress, discuss future strategies, and reaffirm Pakistan’s determination to achieve Hepatitis C elimination through evidence-based policies, strong partnerships, and effective implementation mechanisms. Hepatitis C remains a major public health concern worldwide, but the scale of the challenge is particularly serious in Pakistan. A large number of infected individuals remain unaware of their condition because the disease may progress silently for years without producing obvious symptoms. Limited access to screening, delayed diagnosis, unsafe medical practices, inadequate awareness, and the high cost of treatment have historically prevented many patients from seeking timely care. The introduction of free screening, testing, and treatment under the Prime Minister’s National Programme therefore marks a significant shift in Pakistan’s response. It recognizes that Hepatitis C cannot be eliminated merely by treating patients who reach hospitals at an advanced stage. Instead, a comprehensive national strategy is required to identify undiagnosed cases, provide confirmatory testing, ensure immediate access to treatment, prevent new infections, and maintain effective monitoring and surveillance systems. Addressing the gathering, Federal Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal stated that Pakistan carries one of the highest burdens of Hepatitis C patients in the world. He warned that the disease continues to threaten millions of lives and places immense pressure on families, communities, and the national healthcare system. He emphasized that the government could not remain indifferent to a health crisis of such magnitude and had therefore launched a nationwide programme providing free screening, free testing, and free treatment to eligible patients. Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal highlighted the need to integrate public health priorities into Pakistan’s broader national development agenda. He emphasized that a healthy population is the foundation of economic growth, social stability, productivity, and sustainable development. Illness not only affects individuals and families but also reduces workforce participation, increases household expenditure, and places additional pressure on national resources. Professor Ahsan Iqbal noted that investment in disease prevention and healthcare accessibility should not be viewed merely as an expenditure. Rather, it is a long-term investment in Pakistan’s human capital and future prosperity. He stressed that the elimination of communicable diseases such as Hepatitis C requires continuity of policy, effective planning, measurable targets, institutional coordination, and transparent implementation. The presence of international health partners at the event reflected the global importance of Pakistan’s hepatitis elimination agenda. WHO Country Representative Dr. Luo Dapeng appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to advance Hepatitis C elimination and reiterated the importance of sustained political commitment, strong surveillance, effective prevention, reliable data, public awareness, and universal access to treatment. He emphasized that international cooperation, technical expertise, and knowledge-sharing remain essential for strengthening national healthcare responses. Pakistan’s success in controlling Hepatitis C would not only protect millions of its citizens but would also contribute significantly to regional and global disease-elimination targets. Addressing the gathering online, Professor Dr. Saeed Akhtar emphasized that eliminating Hepatitis C requires more than treating individuals after they become seriously ill. He stressed the importance of prevention, widespread screening, early diagnosis, safe medical practices, public awareness, and timely access to effective treatment. Professor Dr. Saeed Akhtar observed that Pakistan possesses the medical knowledge and therapeutic tools necessary to control the disease. However, success will depend on sustained political commitment, effective implementation, and close cooperation among the federal and provincial governments, healthcare institutions, development partners, and local communities. Reliable data will enable policymakers to understand where infections are concentrated, which populations remain underserved, and whether screening and treatment programmes are producing the desired results. Without accurate monitoring, even well-funded programmes may struggle to measure their impact or address gaps in implementation. The participation of international delegates and eminent health professionals demonstrated the growing recognition of Pakistan’s hepatitis elimination efforts on the global health platform. Their engagement provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge, examine successful international models, and identify practical solutions for overcoming the challenges that continue to hinder progress. World Hepatitis Day serves as a reminder that Hepatitis C is preventable, diagnosable, and treatable. Its elimination is achievable when governments, healthcare professionals, communities, development partners, and international organizations work together with a shared vision and sustained commitment. Pakistan’s journey towards eliminating Hepatitis C is not merely a medical campaign. It is a national commitment to protecting lives, reducing health inequalities, preventing avoidable suffering, and ensuring that no individual is denied treatment because of poverty or limited access to healthcare. The Islamabad event conveyed a clear and powerful message; Hepatitis C elimination is possible through leadership, collaboration, public awareness, and sustained action. The

The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is observed every year on 30 July, to eradicate one of the gravest violations of human dignity. Human trafficking is a criminal offence and it is a profound violation of human rights that deprives millions of women, men, and children of their freedom, dignity, and security. Recognizing the growing global threat, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution in December 2013, designating 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. The Resolution aims to raise awareness of the plight of victims, promote and protect their rights, strengthen international cooperation, and encourage the effective implementation of international legal instruments against trafficking. Human trafficking is often described as modern slavery, but legally it encompasses a much broader range of criminal conduct. The internationally accepted definition is contained in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (commonly known as the Palermo Protocol), which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), entered into force in 2003. The Palermo Protocol defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons through means such as force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power, or abuse of a position of vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation. It obliges States Parties to criminalize trafficking, protect and assist victims while respecting their human rights, prevent trafficking through coordinated national measures, and strengthen international cooperation in investigation, prosecution, and law enforcement. By establishing a comprehensive framework based on prevention, protection, prosecution, and international partnership, the Palermo Protocol remains the cornerstone of the global legal response to human trafficking. One of the most visible global initiatives against trafficking is the UNODC Blue Heart Campaign. The Blue Heart symbolizes solidarity with victims while simultaneously representing the cold-heartedness of traffickers who buy and sell human beings for profit. Through awareness campaigns, educational activities, partnerships and public engagement, the initiative encourages governments, businesses and citizens to become active participants in preventing trafficking. The campaign also supports the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking, which provides direct assistance to victims through specialized organizations across the world. The Blue Heart has become an internationally recognized symbol reminding us that behind every trafficking statistic is a human life requiring protection and justice. For many years, discussions on trafficking largely focused on sexual exploitation and forced labour. While these remain widespread, trafficking has evolved dramatically with technological advancement and globalization. Recruitment increasingly occurs through social media platforms, online advertisements, messaging applications, dating websites and fraudulent recruitment agencies. Criminal organizations use digital technologies to identify vulnerable individuals, establish trust, arrange transportation, monitor victims, launder criminal proceeds and evade law enforcement. The United Nations has therefore selected ‘Trapped Behind the Scam’ as the theme for the 2026 World Day against Trafficking in Persons, drawing attention to one of the fastest-growing forms of trafficking: the exploitation of victims within online scam compounds. Across several regions, particularly in East and South-East Asia, individuals are deceived through fake overseas employment opportunities. Upon arrival, their passports are confiscated, movement is restricted, and they are forced to conduct online financial fraud, cryptocurrency scams, romance scams and other cyber-enabled offences under threats of violence and debt bondage. Victims themselves become instruments of organized crime while remaining victims under international law. Two publications issued by UNODC in 2024 provide a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary trafficking landscape. While the UNODC Convergence Report 2024 examines how human trafficking has become increasingly intertwined with cybercrime, financial fraud, money laundering, and other forms of transnational organized crime, the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024 presents the latest global trends, patterns, and statistics on trafficking in persons. The UNODC Convergence Report 2024 marks an important shift in understanding organized crime. Rather than viewing trafficking, cybercrime, drug trafficking, corruption, financial fraud and money laundering as separate criminal activities, the report demonstrates that they increasingly converge and reinforce one another. Human trafficking now forms part of broader criminal ecosystems. Organized criminal groups simultaneously engage in trafficking, cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering, corruption, document forgery, identity theft and financial crime. Criminal profits are rapidly transferred across jurisdictions through sophisticated laundering mechanisms, while digital technologies enable offenders to recruit victims, communicate securely and conceal illicit proceeds. According to the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024, human trafficking remains a pervasive global crime affecting every region of the world. Between 2020 and 2023, authorities detected 202,478 victims across 156 countries, of whom 38% were children (22% girls and 16% boys) and 62% were adults (39% women and 23% men). Forced labour emerged as the most prevalent form of exploitation, accounting for 42% of detected victims, followed by sexual exploitation (36%), while forced criminality (8%), mixed forms of exploitation (8%), other forms of exploitation (4%), forced begging (1%), and forced marriage (1%) constituted the remaining cases. The report further reveals that 70% of convicted traffickers are men, 28% are women, and 74% of traffickers operate within business-like or governance-type organized criminal groups, underscoring that trafficking in persons is predominantly driven by sophisticated organized crime networks rather than isolated offenders. Recent UNODC assessments indicate that trafficking patterns continue to evolve. Organized criminal groups are responsible for a substantial majority of detected trafficking cases. Victims originate from an increasingly diverse range of countries and are trafficked across multiple regions. Online recruitment has become commonplace, while forced criminality, including cyber-enabled fraud, is emerging as a rapidly expanding form of exploitation. Pakistan has strengthened its legal and institutional response to human trafficking through the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2018, enacted in line with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Palermo Protocol. The Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Rules, 2020 further require the National Police Bureau to establish and maintain a centralized national database on trafficking in persons. In pursuance of this mandate, the Bureau has established the National Database on Trafficking in Persons Management Unit to develop an integrated system for nationwide data collection, analysis,

On July 04 every year the United States of America (USA) celebrates its Independence Day with great fanfare. This year grand fireworks were carried out by a local educational institution that has been established in collaboration with a US university. Perhaps Americans were the only colonial subjects who were able to break the colonial molds to gain real freedom from the Brits. Ellis Island was the entry point where an inscription caught my attention; “What good rain or shine if freedom fails.” Patrick Henry went even further by asserting; “Give me liberty or give me death.” Freedom is at the core of the American dream that continues even after 250 years. On August 14, 1947, Pakistan emerged on the world map after the division of the Indian Subcontinent. After the riots that followed, millions left their homes to pursue their dream of freedom. There was bloodshed on the way. My late father Nazir Ahmed Malik, Tehreek-e-Pakistan Gold medalist and a soldier of the Quaid, had to fight a pitched battle in Ludhiana (East Punjab) to save his neighborhood from the Hindu mob. He was convicted in absentia. The family left a flourishing watch business to start all over again in the new land. My late father-in-law Shehzad Ahmed Khan travelled all the way from Brailey to keep the trains running as refugees poured in from all over India. According to him, there was a scarcity of engine drivers and mechanics. The officers stood with appeals for expert help on the platforms. Those who could help did not rest; they kept the wheels turning. Ghulam Haider Wyne, as Chief Minister (CM), started a very ambitious project called ‘Bab-e-Pakistan’ (Door to Pakistan) to preserve history. He had arrived in Pakistan from Amritsar via Ferozepur. Unfortunately, after his term ended, the project was shelved. In the words of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB) is a grand laboratory where the workability of Islam was to be tested. True to our ambition, we started off well. The founding fathers burnt the midnight oil to establish functional institutions. The first born free generation was being prepared to take over. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s vision, Allama Iqbal’s dream and Jinnah’s struggle had paid off. The republic was poised to emerge as the first Asian Tiger when tragedy set in. Our Bengali brothers, the majority population, decided to go their way. Jinnah’s Pakistan was dismembered. My father suffered a heart attack and remained depressed for days. ZAB raised hopes of the nation that was left behind. In his words, “I have come to pick up the pieces.” To make our defence impregnable, he started the Nuclear Program in early 1972. Finally, in May 1998 Pakistan entered the ranks of the Nuclear Powers. Unnecessary misadventures have derailed the country which was poised for glory. Afghan War I proved to be deadly. The very fabric of the nation was stressed. Then Afghan War II was even more lethal. Suddenly a U-turn turned friends into enemies. Hope was rekindled when the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 after 20 years of war. On August 14, 2026, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will be 79 years old. Instead of dangerous one-wheeling by the youth, it is time to review and refwords,n the reality, putting ambition on the side for the time being. Today only the border with China is secure. Iran is fighting a survival battle. Diplomacy is non-functional both with India and Afghanistan. The economy continues to struggle. Challenges of debt are becoming insurmountable. There is some good news about energy. Finally, the government has decided on the use of Thar Coal to meet our energy needs. An agreement has been signed by Karachi Electric for the expansion of the mine in Block I. Mined Black Gold will replace the imported commodity to produce inexpensive electricity. Fauji Fertiliser has signed on the expansion of the mine in Block II to gasify coal, which will then be used to produce the much-needed urea fertiliser.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was one of the most multifaceted poets of the subcontinent. The scope of his poetry covers various areas such as peace, humanity, humility, spirituality, patriotism, patience, struggle, and many other important aspects of human life. The light of his poetry reaches the minds and souls of people belonging to different walks of life. Latif was born in a period when Persian was the official language and was also the language of poetry and other means of expression. However, he broke the chains of tradition, put aside the fear of social conventions, and used Sindhi instead of Persian as the medium of his poetry. His narrative reinforces the idea that one should prefer native and indigenous languages to foreign ones, because one’s identity and cultural association are linked with indigenous languages. He does not mean to disrespect Persian; rather, he intends to reinforce the significance of native languages. Patriotism was one of the important themes of Latif’s poetry. Sur Marvi is a testament to his inner feelings about the homeland and the deep love attached to it. According to the story, when Marvi was allegedly kidnapped by Umar, the ruler of the time, and brought to his grand palace, she rejected the luxuries and comforts of the palace. Instead, she requested Umar to return her to Malir, her homeland. Marvi tells Umar that if she dies in imprisonment, her dead body should be sent back to her beloved parents, ancestors, and the land of Malir. Even after her demise, reaching her homeland would bring comfort and peace to her soul. She wishes to be buried among the fragrant herbs and plants of her beloved land. This symbolises love, simplicity, and attachment to the homeland and its people. It shows that despite achieving all worldly luxuries and privileges, a person with a true conscience desires to return to their native land. For Latif, love for the homeland is more than a feeling or a sense of belonging. It is an attachment to one’s identity, culture, and indigenous roots. Therefore, Marvi does not care about worldly luxuries but desires to return to Malir, which may be simple but possesses natural beauty, pure love, and the affection of relatives and fellow beings. For Marvi, her homeland Malir is superior and matchless. In Sur Sarang, Latif discusses rain and the prosperity that follows rainfall through agriculture, irrigation, and the grazing of domestic animals and livestock. Latif describes Thar as a thirsty land that has always longed for rain and showers because the sustainability of Thar depends upon rainfall. The dark clouds over Thar bring excitement and happiness, not only to the poor people but also to their livestock. For the rain-thirsty region of Thar, rain indicates the hope of prosperity. After rainfall, lands are cultivated, animals are kept in homes, and people experience prosperity. This reflects the deep association between humans and nature and shows how people keep high hopes from natural blessings such as rain. Latif’s poetry does not only confine itself to love, peace, and patriotism; patience, humanity, self-surrender, and contentment with minimum means are also significant themes of his poetry. He emphasises the purity and piousness of the inner soul and encourages people to sacrifice worldly desires to elevate their inner selves. During the British era, many British officers posted in Sindh recognised the greatness of Shah Abdul Latif’s poetry and paid tribute to him. Writers and scholars such as H.T. Sorley considered him one of the great poets of the world. Through their contributions, they tried to promote and spread Latif’s message of love, peace, humanity, brotherhood, and tolerance. They observed that although Latif’s poetry apparently covers regional issues and feelings, its thoughts and expressions are universal and comparable with the works of internationally recognised poets. While talking about the concept of the Lord, Latif explains that apparently there seems to be one palace having hundreds of thousands of doors and countless windows. Wherever one looks, one can see the presence of the Lord. This indicates that God is omnipresent and can be seen through different forms of His creation and symbols. One of the fundamental aspects of Latif’s poetry is real love and the approach towards the Creator. According to Latif, the initial step to achieve this elevated spiritual status is to become humble, submissive, caring, and kind towards people living on earth. He believes that in order to have access to God, one has to brush aside worldly desires and become humble and devoted. His poetry also contains messages of hope, patience, courage, and adventure. Latif says that those who have the courage and determination to cross rivers of difficulties and hardships will ultimately reach their destination. In his poetry, the river symbolises obstacles and difficult situations that a person faces while struggling to achieve success. Those who are brave enough to face the horrifying waves of difficulties can ultimately cross the river and achieve their goals. Latif also emphasises avoiding excessive desires of the material world. According to him, the way to spiritual elevation is to remain humble, kind, and caring towards the creatures of the Lord. His poetry teaches people that life is temporary and that one must play one’s role positively in this world to achieve success in the spiritual world. Sur Samundi is another important chapter of Latif’s poetry. In this Sur, Latif depicts the life of marine traders, their economic struggles, social issues, and the feelings of their loved ones when these sailors travel through deep seas and remain away from their homes for many months. In this chapter of his poetry, Latif observes that people of the olden days were involved in trade and commerce and lived prosperous lives. These mariners travelled to far off areas and traded various valuable items, including diamonds, pearls, and jewels. They left the comforts and luxuries of their homes because they preferred trade and adventure to a comfortable life. Latif not only highlights the success and struggles of these traders but also

Every year, Pakistan measures the toll of disasters in human lives. We count the dead, the injured, the displaced, the houses destroyed and the roads washed away. These figures shape government responses, determine compensation, and influence future planning. Yet one category of victims remains almost invisible: animals. Whether floods sweep through Punjab and Sindh, earthquakes strike remote communities, droughts destroy grazing lands, or heatwaves scorch entire districts, there is no comprehensive national system that records how many companion animals, livestock or wild animals die. While the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has significantly advanced Pakistan’s disaster preparedness through technology-driven early warning systems, hazard monitoring and risk analysis, the routine collection and publication of animal mortality data has yet to become a core part of disaster reporting. This is more than a statistical omission. It is a blind spot that weakens disaster preparedness, environmental protection and public health. Animals are not merely victims of disasters; they are indicators of disasters. A sudden increase in deaths among birds, fish, livestock or wildlife can reveal contaminated water, disease outbreaks, toxic pollution, habitat destruction or ecosystem collapse long before these threats become obvious to people. Ignoring these signals means ignoring valuable early warnings. The relationship works in the opposite direction as well. Dead animals left unrecorded and improperly disposed of after floods or other emergencies create serious public health risks. Carcasses contaminate water sources, attract scavengers, encourage insect breeding and may facilitate the spread of infectious diseases if not handled according to veterinary and environmental protocols. Disaster management cannot end when human rescue operations conclude. Recovery also requires environmental sanitation. Pakistan has increasingly embraced the concept of anticipatory disaster management. NDMA now operates sophisticated early warning platforms using satellite monitoring, artificial intelligence, weather forecasting and hazard mapping to reduce disaster risks before they become catastrophes. But even the most advanced technology cannot compensate for missing ecological data collected on the ground. A country cannot manage what it does not measure. Animal mortality data should become as routine as reporting damaged schools or collapsed bridges. It should distinguish between livestock, companion animals and wildlife. It should identify causes of death where possible. It should map geographic clusters. Most importantly, it should be shared among veterinary authorities, wildlife departments, environmental agencies and disaster management institutions. This is not simply about animal welfare. It is about One Health—the recognition that human health, animal health and environmental health are inseparable. A disaster that devastates wildlife rarely stops with wildlife. The same contaminated river that kills fish may later provide drinking water to nearby communities. The same disease that wipes out livestock can threaten food security and livelihoods. The same habitat destruction that displaces wild animals may increase conflict between humans and wildlife. Animals also play a remarkable role in preventing disasters themselves. Mangrove forests, sustained by countless marine species, reduce the force of cyclones and storm surges before they reach coastal communities. Coral reefs act as natural breakwaters, absorbing wave energy that would otherwise damage coastlines. Beavers, where they exist naturally, build wetlands that slow floods, reduce erosion and store water during droughts. Earthworms improve soil structure, allowing rainwater to infiltrate the ground instead of running off as destructive floods. Even species that many overlook quietly contribute to disaster resilience. Vultures rapidly remove animal carcasses from the environment, reducing opportunities for disease to spread. Pollinating insects maintain vegetation that stabilises soils and reduces erosion. Forest elephants in parts of Africa disperse seeds that regenerate forests, strengthening ecosystems that absorb carbon and regulate water cycles. Healthy bat populations consume enormous numbers of insects, helping maintain ecological balance. In Pakistan, wetlands provide another example. Migratory birds, fish and aquatic life support ecosystems that naturally store floodwaters and reduce downstream flooding. Destroying these habitats weakens one of nature’s own flood management systems. History also records countless instances where animals sensed impending disasters before humans. Elephants moved to higher ground before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Birds and other wildlife have altered their behaviour before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Scientists continue to study these phenomena, but they demonstrate an important point: animals are deeply connected to environmental changes that humans often fail to detect immediately. Perhaps the greatest lesson is that biodiversity itself is infrastructure. We invest billions in concrete flood barriers, embankments and drainage systems, yet healthy forests, wetlands, grasslands and coastal ecosystems quietly perform many of the same functions every day without invoices or maintenance contracts. Their effectiveness depends on thriving animal populations. When those populations decline, nature’s capacity to protect us declines with them. Pakistan’s disaster laws and policies should therefore evolve beyond a human-only perspective. Disaster assessments should include veterinary response teams. Wildlife mortality should be documented after every major disaster. Livestock losses should be analysed not only for compensation but also to understand changing environmental risks. Dead animals should be safely collected, tested where appropriate, and disposed of according to scientific protocols to minimise disease transmission. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction emphasises understanding disaster risk through better data and stronger information systems. Comprehensive disaster data cannot exist if millions of animal lives remain invisible. The next flood, earthquake or heatwave will not distinguish between humans and animals. Neither should our disaster management system. Every uncounted animal is not simply a missing statistic. It is a missed warning, a missed opportunity to understand environmental change, and a missed chance to build a safer and more resilient Pakistan.

There is a moment in every negotiation when the mask slips and the real hierarchy of loyalties reveals itself. It happened again recently, in the quiet grammar of a policy condition. If a deal with Iran is good for America, if it stops a war, secures a region, spares American blood and treasure, then it should be pursued on its own terms. It should not need to be laundered through a second question, but what does Israel get out of it? The moment that second question enters the room, the first one has already been answered, and not in America’s favour. This is not a rhetorical trick. It is a structural tell. A foreign policy genuinely organised around American interests does not require the ratification of an ally before it proceeds. It calculates costs, weighs risks, and acts. The insertion of an Israeli veto, soft, implicit, but unmistakable, into decisions that are framed as being about American security is not an alliance functioning normally. It is a client relationship wearing the costume of a partnership, and increasingly, the costume does not fit. I do not say this as someone hostile to alliances. Alliances are the ordinary furniture of statecraft, and no serious analyst begrudges Washington its relationships. What I begrudge, what any honest observer of the last two decades of American foreign policy must eventually begrudge, is the peculiar one-directionality of this particular relationship, in which American strategic autonomy is perpetually available for negotiation, but Israeli strategic autonomy is not. Successive administrations, Democratic and Republican alike, have discovered that the fastest way to kill a sound policy is to let it wander anywhere near Jerusalem’s objections. The Biden administration played this game with a kind of practiced fluency, dressing subservience in the language of “shared values” and “unbreakable bonds.” That the current administration appears to be playing the identical game, merely with a different set of talking points, should trouble anyone who once believed that a change in party might also mean a change in posture. The deeper dishonesty, though, sits beneath the day-to-day theatre of negotiation. It is the elephant that everyone in the room has agreed, by unspoken consensus, not to see. Iran is treated as the singular proliferation emergency of the Middle East, the country whose enrichment levels must be monitored down to the percentage point, whose every centrifuge is a matter of international alarm, whose nuclear ambitions justify sanctions regimes, covert sabotage, and the standing threat of military strikes. And yet a few hundred kilometers away sits a state that has possessed nuclear weapons for more than half a century, has never signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has never submitted to an inspection regime of any kind, and whose arsenal is discussed in Western capitals only in the passive voice, if it is discussed at all. Israel’s bomb is an open secret that everyone has agreed to keep. This is not a minor inconsistency. It is the load-bearing hypocrisy of the entire non-proliferation architecture in West Asia. You cannot credibly claim to be pursuing a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free Middle East while exempting, by unspoken convention, the one state in the region that actually has the weapons in question. Every argument marshalled against Iran’s nuclear programme, that a nuclear-armed state destabilizes its neighbors, that it invites arms races, that it holds regional security hostage to the judgment of a single government, applies with at least equal force to Israel, and applies to a country that has, unlike Iran, already used overwhelming force against multiple neighbors within living memory. The asymmetry is not a technical oversight. It is a choice, made and remade by every administration that has declined to place Israel’s arsenal on the table. What this reveals, I think, is that the “Iran obsession,” as it might fairly be called, was never really about proliferation at all. If it were, the conversation would begin with disarmament architecture applied evenhandedly across the region, inspections offered and demanded in both directions, and a serious reckoning with the double standard that has calcified into policy over fifty years. Instead, the Iran file functions as a proxy for a different question entirely, whose security calculus gets to define American Middle East policy. And on that question, the answer has been remarkably consistent regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. None of this is a case for indulging Tehran’s own record, which carries its own list of grievances worth prosecuting honestly, its human rights abuses, its regional proxies, its own history of destabilizing behavior. Clear-eyed criticism of Iran is entirely compatible with clear-eyed criticism of the double standard applied to Israel; the two are not in tension, and pretending otherwise is its own kind of evasion. But a foreign policy that claims the mantle of principle while practicing this degree of selective vision is not principled. It is theatre, and increasingly unconvincing theatre, performed for a domestic audience that is growing visibly tired of the script. The unpopularity of this arrangement is no longer a fringe sentiment. It shows up in polling, in generational splits within America’s own political coalitions, in the rising discomfort even among constituencies that have historically been the most reliable defenders of the relationship. People are noticing the pattern: that policies justified as serving American interests keep bending, at the last moment, toward a different set of interests altogether. They are asking, reasonably, who is actually driving the car. There is also a historical dimension to this that deserves more attention than it usually receives. The pattern of conditioning American policy on Israeli comfort did not begin with Iran, and it will not end there. It runs through decades of vetoed resolutions at the United Nations, through arms transfers that continued uninterrupted even amid documented humanitarian catastrophe, through the quiet understanding that certain questions simply are not to be raised in polite Washington company. Each individual instance can be explained away with its own set of justifications, security concerns, historical debts, domestic political realities. But taken together, across administrations

Azad Jammu and Kashmir has recorded at least 40 deaths since early June in clashes tied to the Joint Awami Action Committee’s campaign against the region’s twelve refugee assembly seats, a toll that predates the events of July 27-28, when JAAC and AJK police gave conflicting counts of 14 to 21 more killed in Rawalakot. The combined total since June likely sits in the high 40s to high 50s, though no independent body has confirmed a single figure; every clash in this sequence has produced a JAAC count and a police count that don’t match, and neither has been verified from outside. The July violence fell during the first phase of a legislative election that AJK’s election commission split into three stages because of the unrest, a break from the territory’s usual practice of voting in a single day. Mirpur division cast ballots on July 27. Rawalakot, in Poonch division, was deliberately held back for the third phase because it has been the epicenter of the agitation. The clashes there on July 27-28 came as JAAC’s long march tried to push through the city toward Muzaffarabad, not on a day its own constituents were voting. That the state felt it necessary to stagger an election by geography to manage a protest movement is itself a measure of how far the crisis had already gone. Law enforcement personnel have been repeatedly targeted through the unrest. Police say an armed JAAC contingent opened fire on officers near Combined Military Hospital Rawalakot in a planned attack, which the region’s police chief called outright terrorism. JAAC disputes this, as it has disputed nearly every account of nearly every clash, saying its own people came under fire after power was cut to the area. Neither version has been independently verified, and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called for an impartial probe into the Rawalakot deaths for that reason. What is not contested is that a movement now banned under anti-terrorism law has been in near-continuous confrontation with police for eight weeks, and that officers have died in it. The dispute traces back to a structural question the state has already answered through the proper channel. Six of the twelve seats go to refugees from the Jammu division, numbering around 434,000; six more go to refugees from the Kashmir Valley, numbering around 30,000. JAAC calls this disproportionate and argues the seats let people who do not live in AJK shape its politics from outside. The AJK Supreme Court ruled on June 7 that the seats are constitutionally protected and can only be altered through a formal amendment, not by administrative order or by protest. The government’s proscription of JAAC under anti-terrorism law came two days earlier, on June 5, ahead of a planned June 9 protest; the worst of the killing followed the ban rather than preceding it. Both sides of that sequence can be argued. What can’t be argued is that the state waited for a body count before invoking the law , it acted first, and the deaths followed. On the demands themselves, the government reports 24 of JAAC’s 44 total demands fully implemented and 16 more partially complete or in process, with 4 at an impasse. That record is substantial, larger than most governments manage against a protest charter. But it does not settle the argument on its own, because none of the 24 completed demands is the refugee-seat question. That one sits among the 16 still unresolved, and it is the demand driving the current violence. A compliance rate built mostly from other line items ; subsidies, cabinet size, judicial commissions, demonstrates the state’s good faith in general. It does not demonstrate its handling of the one issue JAAC is dying and killing over, and that distinction should not be blurred. Even so, the seat question has been settled by the only body with authority to settle it. Abolishing the seats to appease pressure tactics would be unconstitutional on its face, and it would tell any future movement in Pakistan that enough disruption can override a court and a negotiated settlement alike. A state that has followed its own constitutional process, implemented most of an agreed reform charter, and still faces an intensifying campaign of blockades and attacks on security personnel has grounds to hold its position; grounds that rest on the process it followed, not on an implementation statistic that doesn’t reach the actual grievance. The state’s strongest move now is to negotiate from the position it has already earned, not concede from a position of weakness. Reweighting the seats toward Jammu’s larger population, pursued through the amendment process the Supreme Court has itself outlined, would resolve the proportionality complaint on the state’s own terms and timeline, not JAAC’s. Offered now, immediately after a disputed mass-casualty event, it would read as capitulation. Offered once the group’s remaining leadership either accepts the court’s authority or is dealt with through the law, it becomes a demonstration of a functioning constitutional order rather than a retreat from one. The state does not owe JAAC a seat at the table it has spent eight weeks helping to blow up. It owes AJK’s residents a government that can enforce the law, account honestly for its own role in how this got this bloody, and eventually fix what is fair within the constitution , in that order.