Gen Z, Jantar Mantar & PM Modi

“By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail”—Benjamin Franklin Every monsoon, Lahore receives heavy rainfall. Every monsoon, the city appears surprised. Roads become rivers, underpasses become lakes, vehicles remain stranded for hours, businesses suspend operations, electricity fails in several localities and thousands of citizens find themselves trapped in their homes. Public officials then appear before cameras to assure the public that “all machinery has been mobilised” and “field staff are working round the clock”. The question, however, is not whether officials worked after the city was submerged. The real question is why a city that has witnessed identical scenes for decades still lacks the institutional capacity to manage a predictable annual event. Rain is not the problem. It is governance. The latest spell of heavy rainfall has once again exposed the widening gap between Lahore’s physical expansion and its institutional preparedness. It has demonstrated that despite billions of rupees spent on roads, flyovers, underpasses, signal-free corridors and housing developments, the city’s drainage infrastructure has remained dangerously inadequate. Nature merely revealed what administrative complacency had concealed. Lahore today is managed by a bewildering network of public institutions—the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA), Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Metropolitan Corporation Lahore, district administration, Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency, Parks and Horticulture Authority and several cantonment boards. Each possesses defined statutory functions, separate budgets, independent administrative structures and overlapping jurisdictions. Yet when rain falls, responsibility becomes everyone’s—and therefore no one’s. The ordinary citizen neither understands nor cares which agency is legally responsible for a flooded road, a blocked drain or an inundated underpass. Citizens judge governments by outcomes, not organisational charts. If roads remain submerged for hours, traffic collapses across the city and commercial activity comes to a standstill, institutional fragmentation cannot become an excuse for collective failure. LDA deserves particular scrutiny because it has shaped Lahore’s urban landscape over the past several decades. Successive development plans have emphasised visible infrastructure and horizontal urban expansion. New housing societies continue to receive approvals while commercial activity spreads rapidly beyond the city’s traditional limits. However, sustainable urban development involves much more than constructing roads and approving layouts. It requires integrated planning for drainage, groundwater recharge, storm-water management, environmental protection and climate resilience. These objectives have too often been subordinated to short-term development priorities. The consequences are now visible across Lahore. Natural water channels have disappeared under concrete. Green areas have steadily declined. Impervious surfaces have multiplied. Urban sprawl has accelerated. Rainwater that once infiltrated open land now accumulates almost instantly on concrete roads and paved surfaces, overwhelming drainage systems that were designed for a much smaller city. The engineering challenge has fundamentally changed but not institutional thinking. TEPA has undoubtedly transformed Lahore’s transport infrastructure through extensive investment in roads, bridges and underpasses. Yet transport engineering cannot be separated from storm-water engineering. Every major road project should answer a simple question before construction begins: Where will the rainwater go? Unfortunately, repeated flooding of important roads and underpasses suggests that drainage considerations have often received less attention than traffic movement. Infrastructure cannot be described as successful merely because vehicles move efficiently during dry weather. Infrastructure succeeds only when it continues functioning under adverse conditions. Modern cities are designed not for ideal weather but for extreme weather. That is precisely where Lahore repeatedly fails. WASA occupies the frontline whenever urban flooding occurs. Its officers and field staff frequently work under extraordinarily difficult circumstances and deserve recognition for their commitment. Yet institutional performance cannot be evaluated solely by emergency response. Pumping millions of gallons of water after roads have flooded does not represent successful urban management. It merely demonstrates that preventive systems were insufficient. Effective drainage begins months before the monsoon through systematic desilting of drains, cleaning of disposal stations, maintenance of pumping equipment, removal of encroachments on natural waterways and continuous monitoring of vulnerable locations. Emergency pumping should remain the exception. In Lahore, it has become the annual strategy. The larger issue extends beyond engineering. It concerns public administration itself. Urban governance in Lahore suffers from fragmentation without coordination. One agency constructs roads. Another manages drainage. A third approves housing schemes. A fourth regulates utilities. A fifth removes encroachments. Each agency performs its own function with limited institutional integration. The result is predictable. Roads are constructed without adequate drainage capacity. Housing schemes are approved without corresponding investment in trunk infrastructure. Natural drainage channels disappear beneath commercial development. Freshly constructed roads are repeatedly excavated by utility agencies. Responsibility becomes divided while accountability disappears. Climate change has unquestionably intensified rainfall patterns across South Asia. Extreme precipitation events are becoming more frequent. However, climate change cannot become an administrative defence. If rainfall patterns have changed, engineering standards must also change. If cities are expanding, drainage systems must expand accordingly. If scientific forecasts predict greater climate volatility, development planning must incorporate those projections rather than relying upon obsolete assumptions. Unfortunately, Lahore continues to respond to twenty-first-century climate realities with twentieth-century infrastructure. The economic costs of this governance failure are substantial. Businesses lose valuable operating hours. Industrial production is disrupted. Supply chains are interrupted. Thousands of daily wage earners lose income. Motor vehicles suffer avoidable damage. Insurance costs increase. Property values decline in repeatedly flooded neighbourhoods. Public health deteriorates as stagnant water increases the risk of waterborne diseases. Collectively, these recurring economic losses almost certainly exceed the annual cost of maintaining a modern storm-water management system raising an uncomfortable question. If billions of rupees can be allocated annually for visible infrastructure projects, why does preventive maintenance remain persistently underfunded? Public finance should not reward ribbon-cutting ceremonies while neglecting maintenance. Maintenance rarely attracts political attention but its absence always attracts public suffering. The constitutional dimension is equally significant. Article 9 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life, a concept repeatedly interpreted by superior courts to include living with dignity, safety and a healthy environment. Article 14 protects human dignity, while Article 38 obliges the State to promote the social and economic well-being of the people.

By Saman Aftab The Ebola outbreak in DRC is not getting the required traction from the world despite being categorized as the fastest growing infection so far recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO). Before diving deep into the threats posed by this disease, it is imperative to provide the readers with an overview of this viral infection. An Overview of Ebola Outbreak The Bundibugyo virus, one of the Orthoebolavirus species is responsible for causing severe Ebola disease known as Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD). It is a zoonotic disease, with fruit bats suspected to be the natural reservoir.  With the close contact of a human to the blood or secretions of infected wildlife (including bats or non-human primates), the human gets the infection. Consequently, the infection spreads from one human to other through direct contact with the blood, bodily secretions, and organs of the infected ones. The viral infection can also spread through close contact with the surfaces and materials contaminated with the bodily secretions of the infected individuals. Very similar to the Corona virus, the spread of this infection is particularly high in health-care settings having inadequate sterilization measures in place. Moreover, a direct contact with the infected deceased individuals during their burial can contribute to its spread as well. Incubation period and Clinical symptoms The incubation period for BVD ranges from 2 to 21 days, and infected individuals are not infectious until symptom onset. Fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat may represent as the early symptoms of this disease. But the non-specific nature of these symptoms often makes the diagnosis difficult resulting in delayed detection. Without early detection, the symptoms of this disease aggravate leading to gastrointestinal symptoms and organ dysfunction. In some cases, haemorrhagic manifestations may also occur in the infected individuals. Diagnosis and Treatment In the absence of confirmatory tests such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or antigen- or antibody-based assays in the laboratory, it becomes a challenge for the health care professionals to differentiate BVD from other endemic febrile illnesses such as malaria. Outbreak control depends on early detection, isolation and care, contact tracing, safe burials and strong community engagement. Since there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments available for BVD, the current mortality rate of 44% to 46% for this disease poses a great threat to the affected communities. Current situation of Ebola outbreak Ebola, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids and causes a hemorrhagic fever, has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years. As per the reports of international media outlets, the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has spread to sixth province as death toll passes 2,100 with 4665 confirmed Ebola cases. The World Health Organization has already warned about its pace- the Ebola epidemic, already the deadliest in the country’s history, is spreading faster than any previous Ebola outbreak. Until now, five Congolese provinces had recorded cases: Ituri, which borders Uganda and South Sudan, North Kivu and South Kivu, Haut-Uélé and Tshopo. The risk of cross-border spread of this infection primarily to Uganda and South Sudan is very high. To make things worse, the response to contain this virus in the DRC is hampered by stretched health services, insufficient clean water and safe toilets. Some of the provinces where Ebola is present are densely populated and have only a weak government presence and largely lacking health infrastructure. North Kivu and South Kivu are also split by the front lines between the Congolese army and the anti-government armed group M23, backed by Rwanda, which has seized vast swathes of territory. This makes the conflict-ridden territory extremely prone to viral spread. Should we be worried? According to WHO official statement, the organization hopes to reverse the spread of this deadly virus in DRC within a span of three months with proper medical intervention. However, the pace with which it is spreading within DRC and bordering areas, it is quintessential to take some preventive measures. Since the globalization of the world was primarily responsible for Covid-19 pandemic, it is essential to have preparedness in advance. The healthcare authorities should establish proper communication channel with their counterparts in DRC to have real time data in hand. Similarly, a stock of screening kits should be maintained in the repository. In our airports and seaports, no preventive measures are in place for the screening of any such disease. To put things into perspective, our agencies working in the airports handle body search of persons and their belongings with no protective gears. They do not even wear any mask while dealing with international flights. Most of the time, those passengers who present with clinical symptoms of disease like coughing, flu or fever tend to wear no mask. This puts the fellow passengers and the airport authorities at risk of many diseases. Therefore, the government should take proper measures in this regard. The seaport and airport personnel should be trained to wear masks and protective gear while handling the flights coming from DRC directly or indirectly. Proper screening booths should be installed having health care professionals equipped with medical kits and personal protective gear. There should be proper sanitization within the airports and seaports vicinities. All these measures will put us in a better position to prevent many contagious diseases beforehand. Prevention should be the top most priority of our health care system only then we can envisage a healthy future. In the end, let us hope the viral infection in DRC subsides before getting out of control.                  

By Qashf Aizdi Justice delayed is justice denied. This phrase has become almost cliché in Pakistan and it unfortunately remains painfully true for millions of litigants who are waiting for their day in court. Every year hundreds of new cases are filed while thousands remain undecided and as a result courtrooms continue to grow more congested and hearings become more infrequent. The unfortunate consequence is that justice moves further out of reach. Time is perhaps the only thing Pakistan’s justice system can no longer afford to lose. The scale of the crisis is reflected in the numbers. According to the Judicial Statistics of Pakistan 2023, more than 2.25 million cases remain pending before courts of Pakistan. During the same year, 4.48 million new cases were instituted while 4.41 million were disposed of, resulting in a 5 percent increase in the overall backlog. The district judiciary alone accounts for 82 percent of all pending cases. With just over 3,100 working judges and judicial officers, each is responsible for more than 700 pending cases, even before accounting for the thousands of new cases filed every year. These figures do not suggest that Pakistan’s judges are idle; rather, they point to a justice system struggling to keep pace with an ever-growing caseload. Civil disputes in Pakistan can often take 10 to 15 years and in some instances even longer, before reaching its conclusion. Court proceedings are routinely delayed by repeated adjournments, cumbersome procedures, paper-based case management and multiple tiers of appeal. Difficulties in serving notices, delays in recording evidence and frequent adjournment requests often leave litigants waiting months before their cases are heard again. Additionally, the consequences of delayed justice extend beyond the courtroom. By the time a case is finally decided, litigants find themselves in a morass of mounting legal costs, lost opportunities and prolonged uncertainty. Every adjournment adds to the financial and emotional burden borne by litigants. A favorable judgment delivered after years of litigation can never fully restore the time, financial stability or peace of mind that has already been obliterated. Article 37(d) of the Constitution of Pakistan obliges the State to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice. Yet, for many litigants, this constitutional promise often rings hollow. As mounting caseloads continue to overwhelm the judiciary, lengthy delays have become an accepted and vexatious feature of the legal system rather than an exception. Justice that arrives years too late often fails to provide meaningful relief. The immediate explanation is ostensibly straightforward; the number of judges is insufficient to handle the growing caseload. Pakistan has one of the lowest judge-to-population ratios in the region, leaving judges responsible for hundreds and often thousands of matters. Yet the shortage of judges tells only part of the story. Addressing this crisis requires more than appointing additional judges; it demands a more comprehensive approach to resolving disputes. One such reform lies in the greater use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Cases can be resolved out of court using processes like mediation and arbitration, whereby judges can focus on cases which require formal adjudication. Consequently, ADR works in conjunction with the courts in solving disputes outside of court. The potential of ADR is perhaps best illustrated by the Morgah Valley dispute. Despite taking over 42 years to be settled via litigation, the same case took only two months to settle after being referred to mediation. Though not all disputes are suitable for mediation, this case is an example of the value that comes with the application of ADR at the right time. More importantly, it shows that timely justice is not an impossible ideal but an achievable one when the right mechanisms are used. However, for countless litigants, delay remains the norm as the judiciary continues to grapple with overwhelming caseloads. Repeated adjournments leave litigants facing prolonged uncertainty and growing frustration. Cases pass from one generation to the next and some litigants never live to see the final outcome of disputes they initiated and fought for. Justice should not become an inheritance passed from parents to children. The longer that reform is postponed, the greater the cost to litigants, businesses and public confidence. Pakistan’s courts are running out of time and so are the people waiting for justice. If Pakistan is serious about fulfilling the constitutional vision embodied in Article 37(d) of the Constitution, reducing judicial delays can no longer remain an aspiration, it must become a national priority. Reforming the justice system will require efficient case management, greater use of appropriate dispute resolution mechanisms and a collective commitment to ensuring that justice is delivered when it is needed most. Until then, Pakistan’s courts will continue to run out of the one resource they cannot recover: time.  

I have lived long enough, and travelled enough, to know that a buggy ride is royal. This week, a buggy ride was held in Islamabad and that ride has become a centre of all drawing room discussions. Let me start with what I have seen with my own eyes, many times over, on the streets of London. I walk those streets often, and I see mounted police there almost every week. Big handsome horses, officers sitting tall in the saddle, moving through crowds at football matches, at protests, at royal parades. But here is the thing I want you to notice. Those horses are working. The officer on that horse is doing a job. He is controlling a crowd, keeping an eye on trouble, making sure that thousands of people move safely through narrow streets. Nobody in London looks at a mounted police officer and thinks of him as a king. They think of him as a policeman who happens to have four legs helping him do his job better than two legs could. Then there is the other side of the horse story in London, the royal family. Once or twice a year, you will see the King or a prince ride out in a grand carriage, gold trim, footmen in uniform, the whole show. And it is exactly that, a show. It is theatre, built on centuries of tradition, and everybody watching knows exactly what it is. Royalty is a different breed. Nobody expects the King to explain why he has running water or why the country’s roads have potholes. He was born into that role, and the carriage is part of a costume that comes with the job. People do not confuse that costume with the daily business of government. Now bring me back home, to Islamabad, on our own Independence Day. I watched the video like everybody else did. The chairman of the Capital Development Authority and the inspector general riding in a horse drawn carriage, arriving grandly at the ceremony. And I felt they were not kings. This was not centuries of tradition. This was a serving civil servant and a serving police officer, the very same officers who are supposed to answer to the public every single day, arriving like they were opening a coronation. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi explains the story behind that ride. He said what happened was not appropriate, but insisted it was not the fault of the IG or the chief commissioner. He says that he and the chief guest were delayed because of the president’s meeting with the prime minister, and that the crowd had been waiting since five in the evening. Around six, when it was clear they would be late, he says he told the officers to start the programme so the public would not have to wait any longer. The buggy, he said, had been arranged for the chief guest, and the officers were only supposed to ride with him, but due to unavoidable circumstances they ended up using it alone. He added that both officers had initially resisted starting the program without him, and that he personally instructed them to proceed, for the convenience of the public. I keep thinking about that journalist who asked a simple, honest question. Have you ever seen the police commissioner of London ride around in a royal buggy? The answer, of course, is no. Because he knows his job is to serve, not to be served. That is the whole difference in one sentence. A horse carriage is a fine thing, in the right hands, for the right reason. In London, it either works, or it performs. In Islamabad this week, it did neither. It simply left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.

Pakistan’s more than 240 million people live across an enormous and geographically diverse territory, yet governance remains concentrated in only four provinces, each responsible for more than 60 million people. This creates an administrative system that is too distant and overburdened to address the specific needs of individual districts and tehsils, especially in Punjab, where more than half the population is governed from Lahore despite the distance from areas such as Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, and Sialkot. Remote citizens often have to make long, expensive, and difficult journeys to provincial capitals for basic documentation, land disputes, specialized healthcare, and other services; Chitral residents may face difficult travel to Peshawar, while Balochistan’s coastal communities may travel hundreds of miles to Quetta and encounter additional linguistic and cultural barriers. This distance produces feelings of neglect and unequal development, as peripheral communities may believe their taxes benefit major cities while their own areas lack clean water, schools, healthcare, and other basic facilities, potentially contributing to separatist movements and regional instability. India provides an example of more decentralized administration, operating with 36 states, provinces, and union territories despite being much larger in population and territory, while Pakistan’s One Unit policy of 1955–1970 demonstrates the dangers of excessive centralization and ignoring ethnic, linguistic, and regional identities. These experiences suggest that Pakistan’s existing provincial structure should not be regarded as permanent and should evolve according to changing administrative and social needs. The most practical solution proposed is to transform existing administrative divisions into provinces, using their established headquarters, government offices, police, courts, development authorities, and other infrastructure as the foundation for new provincial governments. Multan, for example, already has a civil secretariat, high court bench, police headquarters, and departmental offices, meaning it could become a provincial capital with comparatively modest investment rather than requiring the construction of entirely new secretariats, universities, hospitals, housing, and other infrastructure costing hundreds of billions of rupees. This would reduce financial pressure and allow existing administrative machinery to continue operating during a relatively smooth transition. New provinces could also stimulate regional economies by creating provincial governments, assemblies, ministries, civil-service positions, courts, judges, police structures, and thousands of jobs, while attracting professionals and reducing migration to overcrowded metropolitan areas. New police forces could improve law and order through familiarity with local languages, geography, and social conditions, while construction and increased spending would benefit contractors, suppliers, hotels, restaurants, transport providers, and other small and medium businesses. However, provincial creation alone cannot solve Pakistan’s governance or financial crisis: it must be combined with a strong crackdown on systemic corruption, including embezzlement, favoritism, bribery, ghost employees, inflated development contracts, fraudulent welfare payments, and theft of electricity and water. The cited audit findings—including alleged embezzlement of more than Rs40 billion from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government accounts and Rs25 billion siphoned from the Benazir Income Support Programme through fraudulent payments—illustrate the scale of the problem. Weak tax collection and severe electricity-sector theft and line losses further deprive the government of revenue, forcing borrowing and leaving inadequate resources for infrastructure and social development; therefore, administrative decentralization must be accompanied by stronger financial accountability, better revenue collection, and effective control of public-sector leakages so that new provinces can become financially viable and genuinely improve citizens’ welfare. Therefore, the creation of new provinces must be intrinsically linked to a comprehensive governance reform agenda that includes the establishment of independent and powerful anti-corruption bodies, the full digitization of government financial systems to eliminate human discretion and create a verifiable audit trail, the implementation of strict and transparent merit-based recruitment policies for all government jobs, and a radical overhaul of the tax collection system to ensure that every eligible citizen and business pays their fair share. The guiding principles for the creation of these new provinces must be crystal clear and fundamentally rooted in the national interest, and the primary criteria for demarcation should be the population size and the geographical contiguity of the proposed units, with the express purpose of ensuring that no new province is created on the divisive basis of language, ethnicity, or tribal affiliation, as such an approach would sow the seeds of further disintegration and undermine the long-term unity and solidarity of the Pakistani people. The history of Pakistan is unfortunately replete with examples of how identity politics and the mobilization of people along ethnic and linguistic lines have led to intense conflict, sometimes violent, and have distracted the nation from the more pressing issues of economic development and social justice, and it would be the height of folly to repeat these mistakes by creating provinces that are defined by a single ethnic group. The creation of provinces like Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on the basis of language and ethnicity in the past, while a recognition of historical grievances, has also entrenched these identities in the political landscape, creating a sense of ownership and exclusivity that can sometimes manifest in hostility towards other groups. The goal of the new provincial scheme should be to create units that are diverse and pluralistic, where no single ethnic or linguistic group feels that the province belongs exclusively to them and where all citizens feel equally represented and entitled to the benefits of the state. A province should be a unit of administration and development, not a homeland for a particular ethnic group, and by focusing on population and geography, the government can create provinces that are both administratively viable and socially cohesive, fostering a sense of unity and patriotism that transcends narrow sub-national identities. This is not to say that the cultural and linguistic heritage of the various regions should be ignored, but rather that this heritage should be celebrated and preserved within a framework of civic nationalism, where the primary identity of every citizen is that of a Pakistani, and where the new provinces are seen as different branches of the same national tree, not as separate trees in a divided forest. It is absolutely imperative that the political parties of the country, which hold the levers of power and shape

In the shadowed epochs before the dawn of Islam, the affairs of mankind were beset by profound confusion and moral clutter. The pursuit of ethical values, the recognition of basic human rights, the establishment of social equality, and the fair administration of justice remained fragmented ideals, often trampled beneath tyranny, tribal feuds, and unchecked passions. It fell to the boundless mercy of Almighty Allah to illuminate this darkness through His divine word, the Holy Quran, which brought order, harmony, and clarity to the chaos of human existence. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the final Messenger and Seal of the Prophets, then embodied these heavenly injunctions in his blessed life and teachings, translating sacred principles into living practice for all generations to follow. As centuries unfolded, new challenges and complexities inevitably emerged within Muslim societies. These were met not by innovation detached from revelation, but through the profound insight and disciplined wisdom of the rightly guided Imams and classical Islamic scholars. Their verdicts and interpretations remained ever subordinate in spirit and letter to the Quran and the authentic Sunnah, ensuring fidelity to the original divine sources. In this rich tradition, the requirements of an Islamic state were meticulously outlined; the conduct of government, the promotion of public welfare, the organisation of society, and the solemn duties of jihad. Even the refined manners of warfare received explicit attention, together with the strict conditions and ethical boundaries that must govern any legitimate striving in Allah’s cause. Thus, faith offered comprehensive guidance for both peace and peril. Regrettably, in our own turbulent times, certain elements have invoked the noble name of Islam to perpetrate acts that the Quran and Sunnah utterly repudiate. Prominent among these forbidden paths is khuruj – armed rebellion against legitimate state authority – a violation that the classical scholarly tradition of Islam has condemned with one voice across fourteen centuries as a source of fitnah and grave sin. In Pakistan, extremist factions deliberately distort this consensus to legitimise their campaigns of insurgency and terror. Yet the evidence stands irrefutable; upholding constituted authority remains a binding religious obligation upon every Muslim citizen. The Holy Quran commands with unmistakable clarity: “Obey Allah, obey the Messenger, and those in authority among you.” No scholarly interpretation grants sanction to armed revolt against Pakistan’s institutions. The Prophet, peace be upon him, cautioned that whoever withdraws from the community even by a handspan and dies in that state departs in the death of ignorance. Ibn Taymiyyah, frequently misquoted by militants, in fact affirmed that prolonged rule by an imperfect leader is preferable to anarchy, and he rejected rebellion outright. Imam al-Nawawi and Imam al-Ghazali similarly warned that the cure of insurrection proves worse than the ailment of injustice it claims to heal. The Prophet likened rightful leadership to a shield behind which the people are protected; Pakistan’s security forces fulfil this sacred role today, rendering support for them not merely civic duty but an act of profound religious obedience. Grievances, the Quran directs, must be channelled through lawful avenues – through courts, scholarly counsel, and reasoned advocacy – never through the chaos of the sword. Even in the face of oppression, the Prophet instructed believers to render due rights to authorities while petitioning Allah for their own. The exemplary patience of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who suffered imprisonment under political duress yet never summoned revolt, offers Muslims an enduring model of principled forbearance. Pakistan’s Constitution, itself rooted in Islamic ideals of justice and shura (mutual consultation), provides ample mechanisms for accountability and reform. Democratic participation and legal engagement thus constitute the Islamically sanctioned road to national betterment. At the heart of this guidance shines the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as the consummate model of wasatiyyah – the divinely ordained path of moderation, mercy, and balance. He declared, “I was sent as a mercy to all of mankind,” establishing that his mission was never one of bloodshed or domination but of compassion and upliftment. Upon the conquest of Makkah, he forgave his bitterest enemies with magnanimity, proclaiming that no reproach would cling to them. This act of clemency remains the authentic Sunnah, bearing no resemblance to the violence extremists perpetrate in his name. The Quran defines the Muslim Ummah as “a middle nation,” chosen for equity and temperance. The Prophet protected the lives, property, and dignity of non-Muslims under covenant, warning that he would be their opponent on the Day of Judgment if they were wronged. He commanded kindness and justice toward those who had not waged war against the faith, visited the sick among other communities, reasoned gently with adversaries, and consistently preferred peace when it could be honourably secured. “Make things easy and do not make them difficult,” he counselled, rejecting the harsh extremism that burdens societies. True jihad, as he taught upon returning from the battlefield, begins with the greater struggle against one’s own soul – an internal discipline that terrorism utterly betrays. Pakistan was founded upon this prophetic ethos of justice, tolerance, and inclusive citizenship. In steadfastly defending its institutions against those who would fracture communal peace, its people engage in a service honoured by the divine. The Quran promises that Allah stands with the patient and the persevering. The path of rebellion leads only to greater discord and spiritual ruin, while the way of the Prophet calls believers to mercy, lawful order, justice for all citizens regardless of faith, and unwavering commitment to the welfare of the nation. In this balanced, compassionate, and principled course lies the true flourishing of Pakistan and the enduring honour of the Muslim Ummah.